How do you live?

Now the just shall live by faith

Hebrews 10:38

How do you live? It’s a pretty deep question. My immediate response to the question is not an answer. Instead, I am saturated with a flood of follow up questions. What is the trajectory of my life? What will be my legacy? What about providence? What about fulfillment, purpose and peace of mind? To be fair, this big little question needs to find a little more focus.

So, in the interest of focus, I will attempt to filter out some of the concerns and hone in three follow up questions. What do I know? What do I believe? Finally, how do I translate my knowledge and belief into action?

“If I really do believe in God, I will tend to act as if He exists.”

Dallas Willard

The rhythm of my life flows through my knowledge of God, my belief in God and the personal integrity required to live unto God. It’s not an accident that God is mentioned in relationship to knowledge, belief and action. The life of faith has a clear direction. Simply put, if I know God and believe in God, personal integrity demands some evidence in the arena of daily behavior. Is that tough? Sometimes, it can be incredibly challenging. Hence, there is an admonition in Hebrews 10 for me to “draw near” to God.  If I really do believe in God, I will want to be near to God. If I know God, then I will want my actions to reveal the character of Christ. If I belief that life is challenging, I will draw near to whisper/scream “help!”

Ultimately, when I draw near to God my life will not remain unaffected. God gives me life. The Source of life will radiate through me. The writer of Hebrews warned against drawing back. Why draw back? That’s not a difficult question.  It’s that pesky aversion to change. Do I crave God’s transformational work in my life or do I worry about how God’s presence will change me? Have I grown comfortable with the way I am? When fear of change creeps in, it’s a good time to return to my knowledge of God and my belief in God. I know God is God. I know God’s plan and purpose is the best plan and purpose. I believe God is faithful. I belief God is trustworthy. If I really believe God exists, I will draw near.