Faith vs Works

Were entirely ready to have God remove all of these defects of character. - Step 6 of the Twelve Steps

I’m slowly reading through Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr. When I began reading this chapter it reminded me of the debate I’ve often heard in the church which is Faith vs Works. Which is most important? According to Richard Rohr, it’s not one, it’s both. And I would agree form the experiences I’ve had. It takes work and courage to be able to face those parts of yourself you would rather hide away. At the same time when you find it and face it, it takes Faith and courage to step back, letting go of control and allowing the Lord to touch that place in ways that only He can. Sometimes He heals those places as we visit wounds and other times He meets me there in my lacking. The question is can I trust Him enough to let Him choose whether I  am healed miraculously or met in my deepest need each time I need it?

This is a subject I’ve also heard Terry Wardle speak of a few different times. A Scripture he has quoted us Hebrews 4:11 “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” Note that choice in words. Make every effort. Sounds like doing something, but then you enter rest, which is not doing but being.

To me this means there are things I can do to enter into the Lord's presence, but once I'm in the Lord's Presence it is up to Him to do the rest. It's up to Him if in that time of resting He heals me.or He meets me in my weakness and vulnerability.

For me I read my Bible, I meditate on the Lord, I pray, and do many different Spiritual Practices because when I've been there the Lord has shown up in powerful ways. While these are great practices to have, they aren't the goal. These practices are only the doorway to entering God's Presence. I'd think you'd agree with me when you walk through the doorway to your house, it has little to do with what you find in there it's not the substance of why you came in, it is only the entry way. The same way with not holding the practices up on a pedestal. These practices are the entryway to meet God and not the ending point.

If we circle back to the beginning of this post where I quote the 6th step from AA and Falling Upwards, where we are ready for God to remove the defects we notice that while these doorways may be great ways to meet the Lord, the healing, removing these defects, comes only from God doing what only He can do. That's when true transformation happens, not just a temporary change. Transformation changes the trajectory of your life. It's nothing that you have done and you don't take the credit for it and neither can any of the doorposts, it's all God! He touched you and it's miraculous.

Have you had any experiences where you entered into a doorway to be touched by Jesus? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!