faith looks to Christ

This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. (1 John 5:6)

"How does faith grow? When we don’t have an assurance of God’s love, we don’t want to be in his presence because of our sin. We think of God as a tyrant or harsh judge who has never really forgiven us; or maybe he’s forgiven some of our sins but not all of them, especially not the habitual ones. Faith can’t flourish when you see God this way because all you see is your guilt rather than Christ’s loving forgiveness through his blood. Faith looks at least ten times more at Christ than at your sin. Then you can face sin honestly and say, 'Yes, it’s really there, and I want to get rid of it.' But you do so out of the strength of knowing you are loved. Jesus went to the cross and shed real blood. It was a real salvation that guarantees real forgiveness, a real resurrection, and a real flow of life to us. Because of this, we have the growing assurance that we have life. Part of our growth is to say that my sinful self has been crucified with Christ. The blood of Christ has taken away my sin and guilt, and the dominant rule in my life is now the cross. Faith looks to Christ and finds life."

From Saving Grace: Daily Devotions from Jack Miller, by C. John Miller (New Growth Press, 2014)

Photo above by Hillie Chan on Unsplash

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