A guest blog post by my brother Zach Maddox:
Mom, please read no further. If you have a copy of “Footprints in the Sand” hanging in your home, you may wish to skip over the following prose. The variation of “Footprints in the Sand” has the potential of ruining any future reading.
Butt print in the Sand
One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some strange prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord, they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you along.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."
(Anonymous)
An immature faith?
First Corinthians 3:1-3 states, “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature.”
God desires growth
As a follower of Jesus you either grow or shrink in faith. No one is able to select cruise-control in their relationship with a living God. You either purposely dedicate your life to what God declares significant, a life that glorifies Him, or pursue what this world deems important.
Loving God and loving people
A life dedicated to God involves loving Him and loving people. This includes believing His word, doing His acts and living a wholesome, faith-filled life.
As you demonstrate love for God and others, you cultivate a stabilizing faith that bears challenges and difficulties associated with building enduring relationships.
The challenge
Decide to mature in your walk with God! Take time daily to read the Bible and pray. Ask Him to develop godly character in your life.
God has the ability to carry you through hardships but know that He wants to develop greater faith in you and help you to stand on your own two feet. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Phil 4:13).
Visit me on the web at zachmaddox.com for pictures from around the world, on-site bible video teachings, and much more. Visit my blog next week as I discuss “Doctors, Diabetes, and Demonstrations - the challenge of living overseas”.
In what ways is your faith tested and strengthened?
