During the end of last October, I was at my grandparent’s house visiting. The newspaper came (as usual) and I was sitting next to my grandmother as she read it. When she got to the section that is considered the “faith” section, I saw an advertisement for a wedding dress. Weddings are usually held in a church building, so that’s nothing out of the blue. But, the wedding dress was not a “normal” dress. The dress was called “Barely There,” and let me tell you, it was barely there!! They even put a picture of a girl wearing the dress in the advertisement! There are so many things that are wrong with that wedding dress, but that’s another topic for another article. Things that are barely there are not the best, like barely there clothing or chocolate that is barely there. But what about your faith? Is it barely there?

In Hebrews 11, we read about many people who had faith and their faith was not barely there. Abraham had great faith. In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to take his son and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham’s faith in God was so strong that he did take his son to be sacrificed. In verse 8 of that same chapter, Abraham points out that God is going to provide the offering. God didn’t say to Abraham that He is going to provide the offering. By his faith, Abraham knew that God is in charge and because of that, God promised him that He is going to make his descendants great. Moses had a faith that was not barely there.

Moses chose to suffer instead of taking part of and enjoying sin when he was in Egypt (Hebrews 11:25). He knew that the reward for running the race of faith (Hebrews 12:1,2) and doing what God commanded is greater than the treasures in Egypt. By faith, he brought God’s nation out of the Egyptian bondage. If Abraham’s and Moses’ faith were barely there, Abraham’s descendents would not have been made great by God and God’s nation would not have been brought out of Egyptian bondage. Our faith should not be barely there, it should be a true faith. True faith is sure, has suffering, and has sacrifice.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). In order to have a true faith, you have to be sure. You have to believe that Jesus is who He says He is and you have to have a solid belief in what the Bible says.

“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25). By having a true faith, you will have to suffer. Satan will try his best to make your life as miserable as he can. He wants the children of God to fall away from God and those who have a strong and true faith will fall into various trials (James 1:2,3).

“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). We have to offer our best sacrifice. The best sacrifice that we offer to God is our life. If we devote our life to God, we will have a true faith. We have to sacrifice our life (spiritually) with our whole heart. Cain probably didn’t offer his sacrifice with his whole heart and God was not pleased with him. In order to be pleasing to God, we have to devote ourselves wholeheartedly. By having a faith that is sure, has suffering, and has sacrifices, you would have a secure salvation.

A faith that is barely there does not give you a secure salvation and not having a secure salvation is pretty scary for me. A barely there faith might barely get you into heaven. Don’t have a faith that is barely there, have a true and genuine faith that will guarantee your reward in heaven.

By Jennifer Odom