At the end of my quiet time last night, this verse caught my eye – “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor Ch3 v11)

When I see people straying from God, I find myself valuing my own relationship with him on a whole new level. I try to place myself in their shoes – if I had the friends and influences they do, would I have strayed too? The point is that I acknowledge just how blessed I am to be finding my feet in my faith. Maybe more than that, it gives me the motivation to better myself in order to better other people. I believe in God’s ability to transform lives with complete ease and grace. I don’t believe anyone, after having found God at some stage in their lives, can fall away forever.  

Christ lives forever in those who embrace him. They can experience a shift in their life and end up shoving him out, ignoring all thoughts of him, acting in ways that they know he’d never approve off, and still, he works in them.  It’s hard to understand why he lets his Children struggle and run from him. Perhaps watching these people from the safe haven of our own flourishing faith helps us to appreciate the good works God is completing through us.

For me, as things stand, I believe it’s the testing of my faith. Can I pray for someone without expecting anything in return? Can I pray genuinely for another person’s happiness and safety when they haven’t treated me like I feel I should be? Can I see their hands reach for alcohol, their lips seek other girls, and their hearts pine for ungodly things and still look at them in love? The kind of love Christ feels for me when I mess up?

I don’t like to think that watching a brother or sister in Christ stumbling in their faith could benefit others. But inevitably, it does. Don’t watch them struggle without praying. Don’t watch them fall without readying yourself to catch them if God tells you too. Most importantly, don’t watch them struggle and learn nothing from it. Any one of us can fall into lives that exclude God if we aren’t careful. We’re no better than those who struggle – slack for long enough, and you’ll be right there with them.

I, for one, will never feel shame in messing up or let it stop me from taking hold of my faith. If I believe wholeheartedly that God can draw the people I pray for back to Him, I’ll never be any different.

And neither will you.