The Christian life is something like pulling weeds out of the garden. That is, once I have pulled this weed, I can’t say I won’t have to worry about weeding that area again. Of course, all gardeners know it does not work that way. Also, the gardener knows that the weed-pulling task is never done until the end of season. Furthermore, keeping with the analogy of weeds, there are some weeds that are more resistant to removing and they break off before we extract the roots.

I think many Christians, including myself, have wondered at times if we really believe what we claim to believe. That is, if we found ourselves in a place where a belief was challenged on the pain of punishment would we still confess to believe it? The thought usually follows along this line: if I really believed such and such, would it not make a greater difference in my life? However, precisely what difference are we thinking of? I should be quick to say that I am not speaking of Christians who are not deeply concerned about this matter. I doubt they ever ask themselves such questions. They tend to be satisfied with living a moral life, which of course is good, but that is hardly the sum of a Christian life. They have truly believed in Christ Jesus, and they are going to heaven and that is enough for them. Nor do I have in mind the Christian who is always beating himself up because he is not perfect in thought and deed. However, for those who tend to be realistic and thoughtful of what it means to be a Christian in all of life, public and private, outward and inward, there may from time to time the question of the authenticity of our faith commitments. It seems that we call into question the authenticity of our beliefs if we should fail to see a constancy of right thinking and action. We tend to assume that the Apostles were always constant in their faith, and so should we be. The fact is, however, we have too little information to make any assessment of their day-to-day personal life. We only have snapshots here and there which are hardly sufficient for a full picture, so it is best to leave that line of thinking alone. Furthermore, John the Apostle wrote: “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (I Jn 1: 8). Therefore, it seems that if we are measuring the authenticity of our faith based on always being on the right side of things spiritually, we are likely to live in despair.

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