Every day I see more and more people talking about God – going to church; going to Christian outings; wearing Christian clothing brands; reading their bible and sharing what they are learning. And it’s such a wonderful sight! You can see God everywhere!

But I remember a time when people really didn’t talk much about church or God. They went to church because they HAD to. Saturdays were for music and cleaning up the house; and Sundays were for church. It was just routine and how many of us grew up. 

Then I remember a period where I felt like many people were questioning their faith. They were questioning whether they truly believed or if they were just doing what they were told. And then as the internet and information became reachable by a few finger strokes, many people started to go astray. 

Sometimes for the better – seeing religion in the grey, rather than black and white. And sometimes for the worse – seeing religion, specifically the bible, as a book of contradictions and stories. And during this time, when I saw people talk about the bible or religion, they were often trying to “debunk myths” because they no longer (or never) believed & tried to convince you not to either.

BUT NOW … I see blogs, vlogs, and everything in between of people actually reading, going to places of worship, and finding answers for THEMSELVES – doing their own research. 

Really … that’s the only way. Yes, “train up a child in the way they should go”. BUT that child has to build and maintain their own relationship. 

This is proven by Genesis 28:13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants …” 

In this verse, God called himself the God of Jacob’s grandfather and the God of his father — because Jacob did not have a relationship with God yet. At this point, Jacob didn’t yet know God in the way that Abraham and Isaac had grown to know Him. And even though Jacob was promised a blessing — as a result of something his grandfather, and then father did  —  God was letting Jacob know that, he STILL needed to believe on his own. And as you read further in Genesis, you learn about how Jacob did grow his faith and relationship with God, and eventually God no longer addresses himself as the God of someone else, but as HIS God.

See, while congregating and coming together is what we SHOULD be doing, we still have to build and maintain our OWN relationship with God. Inherited faith won’t survive on borrowed belief. We have to do our OWN research and believe because we truly do — not because it’s cool, or something we were taught to do. 

I believe that many of us can relate to Jacob’s situation and learn that faith is not something that’s just passed down or taught to us. We have to actually build upon that faith and teaching. It’s not enough for our parents or grandparents to believe, we have to believe too. Because when God calls us – as He did Jacob – we want Him to address us as the believers we ARE … not as the God of someone else. 

TAKE AWAY:
Build your own relationship with God so you don’t fumble the tests that WILL come because you didn’t have the evidence, knowledge, and faith to pass.