Faith is rarely proven in what we discuss. It is revealed in what we are willing to do.
Over the years I have observed something, particularly within Christian circles.
We are often exceptionally good at reflection.
We know how to discuss theology.
We know how to analyse problems.
We know how to think deeply about culture, mission and discipleship.
We know how to pray.
We know how to seek wisdom.
We know how to talk about what God might be saying.
And in many ways, these things matter deeply.
After all, the Christian life is not meant to be rushed, reactive or disconnected from God.
At the very centre of our faith is relationship.
Jesus reminds us of the great commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and love your neighbour as yourself.”
— Matthew 22
Everything begins here.
To know God.
To walk with God.
To live conscious of His presence.
To be formed by Christ.
To become people whose lives are increasingly shaped by communion with Him.
This is the foundation of discipleship.
But perhaps one of the great tensions we face is that sometimes we become very comfortable living in reflection while remaining distant from action.
We learn how to talk about loving God.
Yet sometimes struggle to practically love our neighbour.
We can spend extraordinary amounts of time discerning what God may be saying…
while quietly avoiding what He has already made clear.
And often delay disguises itself remarkably well.
We say things like:
- We need more clarity.
- We need better timing.
- We need more resources.
- There are too many risks involved.
- Let’s revisit this later.
- We should pray about it a little longer.
- Perhaps someone else should lead.
Now certainly, wisdom matters.
Discernment matters.
Thoughtful leadership matters.
But sometimes what begins as wisdom slowly becomes hesitation.
And hesitation can become disobedience.
Because action costs something.
Action creates accountability.
Action requires trust.
And trust in God is often revealed not in what we say, but in what we are willing to do.
I often think about Abraham.
Of all the moments in Abraham’s life, perhaps none was more confronting than when God asked him to offer Isaac.
I have found myself returning to this account many times over the years, and few passages of Scripture have shaped my own understanding of faith more deeply.
Because the older I get, the more I realise faith is rarely about certainty.
It is rarely about fully understanding the outcome.
More often, faith is choosing obedience when the path ahead makes little sense and the cost feels very real.
What has always challenged me most about Abraham’s story is not simply what God asked of him.
It is Abraham’s response.
There is no negotiation.
No request for more explanation.
No attempt to delay.
Scripture simply says:
“Early the next morning Abraham got up…”
— Genesis 22:3
That line has stayed with me for years.
Abraham did not understand.
He did not have certainty.
But he moved.
Not recklessly.
Not carelessly.
But obediently.
And perhaps this is where many of us wrestle.
We can become so committed to reflection that we forget the purpose of reflection.
We can become so focused on discernment that we forget the purpose of discernment.
The goal of abiding in Christ is not endless contemplation.
It is transformation.
And transformed people live differently.
To love God with all our heart is foundational.
But genuine love for God must eventually be expressed in how we love people.
How we serve.
How we sacrifice.
How we respond when God calls us to move.
There comes a point where communion with Christ leads somewhere.
It leads outward.
Toward obedience.
Toward trust.
Toward action.
Toward loving our neighbour in practical and costly ways.
The Kingdom of God has never advanced primarily through discussion.
It advances when ordinary people walk closely enough with Jesus that obedience becomes more natural than hesitation.
Sometimes faith is not asking for more clarity.
Sometimes faith is not waiting for perfect conditions.
Sometimes faith looks like Abraham.
Getting up early the next morning.
And doing what God has already asked.
Because in the end…
Faith is not ultimately revealed in what we say, discuss or believe.
It is revealed in what we are willing to do.
