Where Are Your Eyes? (Finding certainty by looking to Christ instead of yourself.)

Faith Doesn't Look at Itself. It Looks to Jesus.

One of the questions that launched our Growing Faith sermon series was this:

"How do I grow my faith?"

It's a great question. But this past Sunday we discovered that before we can answer it, we first have to ask another question:

Where am I looking?

Most of us know what it's like to have doubts. We go through difficult seasons. We don't always feel especially close to God. Sometimes our prayers seem dry, or we wonder whether our faith is as strong as it once was.

And what do we usually do?

We begin looking inward.

We evaluate our feelings. We examine our commitment. We wonder if our faith is strong enough.

The problem isn't that those experiences are real. They are. The problem is that they were never meant to answer the question, "Where do I stand with God?"

Our feelings change. Our circumstances change. Even our experience of faith changes from day to day.

Jesus doesn't.

That's why the writer to the Hebrews tells us, "Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith." Notice that he doesn't tell us to examine our faith. He tells us to look to the Savior.

Jesus says something similar in John 15: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." Before we ever responded to Him, He had already acted for us. He chose us. He came for us. He died and rose for us. He continues to come to us through His Word and Sacraments to strengthen the faith that He Himself has created.

One of the key discoveries from Sunday's sermon was this:

Certainty is found in the object of faith, not in the experience of faith.

That's wonderfully freeing.

It means your certainty doesn't depend on how spiritual you feel today. It doesn't depend on having a perfect week or praying all the right prayers. Your certainty rests on Jesus Christ and His promises.

So when doubts come—and they will—don't begin by looking at yourself.

Look to Christ.

He is the Author of your faith.

He is the Perfecter of your faith.

And because your salvation is His work from beginning to end, you are free simply to receive what He delights to give: forgiveness, life, salvation, and the certainty that you belong to Him.

Reflection Question: When you're looking for assurance that God loves you and has forgiven you, where do you instinctively look first—inside yourself, or to Christ and His promises?