Comparative Faith Part 2

So this past week at youth group we talked about Comparative Faith and a our faith costing us something.

I talked about how I think we look at people around us and say "well I'm better than them, so I'm good." We say, "well I go to church, I don't swear, I don't drink or do drugs or anything really bad....so I'm doing exactly what God wants of me."

As the week has gone along I've thought of two other possibilities for Comparative Faith and I want to share them with you.

The first is almost the inverse of what we talked about Sunday. It's seeing people around us and say, "I'm horrible. What's the point in trying?" It's choosing to do nothing. It's hearing stories of faith and saying, "that only happens to missionaries and pastors.....the really "holy" people". It's believing that God doesn't have a plan for YOU....just everyone else.

The second is actually a positive Comparative Faith. This would happen in more of a mentoring type relationship. I think it's possible to see amazingly Godly people in our lives and say to ourselves, "I want that kind of active God seeking faith that consumes their lives." I know in my own life I can point to people in church and even my parents who have served as roll models in my faith and encouraged me to take my relationship with Jesus Christ to a deeper level. Be clear here....our real pursuit isn't to be like another person....it's to be Christ-like. However seeing other people passionately pursuing Christ could spur us to also passionately be pursuing him because we see what He has done in their lives.