Author: Pastor Steve Duffy
When studying and discussing John 19:31-42 this week I was reminded of an important principle as we observe in others indicators of faith in Christ. That is, faith trajectory over time.
Consider Nicodemous as we take a glimpse into his life from John 3:1-21 (his private inquiry at night), then John 7:50-51 (his public inquiry in front of the religious leaders), then in John 19:39 (his public costly action). Trajectory seems to indicate a progression of belief/faith. Now ultimately we are not the final judge in declaring that Nicodemus had yielded His life to Jesus Christ through repentance and belief. The test of time is just an indicator, so Nicodemus’s example is what we would expect to see of one who has believed in and growing in Christ.
What competes with observing faith trajectory over time is the temptation to place a heavy emphasis on seasons of life or points of time in life, including milestone moments like a profession of faith. For example, if we were to take a glimpse into Peter’s life at various points in the gospel of John, we may find ourselves with various responses as to assessing where Peter is in his faith journey. We have the luxury of knowing Peter’s full story, but consider taking a glance of Peter’s life and relying solely/primarily on his words as recorded in John 6:68-69, you’d conclude that Peter is no doubt one of Christ’s. But then you might only focus on Peter’s words in John 13:37 and think surely he is one of Christ’s, but then listen to Jesus’s response in John 13:38 and the fulfillment of that in John 18:15-18 and 18:25-27 and start to doubt some. Rather, we look at Peter’s life over time and we say, he exemplified one who follows Jesus imperfectly. This example of Peter reminds us as we observe the lives of others to ask, “what does the test of time, the trajectory over time, reveal about their faith in Christ?” The following visual might be helpful to illustrate the point of trajectory over time vs point in time
As we consider these examples from the Scriptures we need this reminder and encouragement to apply the same principle to the lives of young people. What are we as parents/guardians/leaders expecting out of young people? I wonder if often, without much thought, we have this unidentified expectation that they should be at the same level of understanding and appropriation of God's truth that we have? Or some other image in mind of what we “should” observe in their lives? How do we know what image we have in view and are placing our trust/hopes in? Simply evaluate our responses (thoughts, words, actions) when they live in alignment with Christ or on the flip side live in a way that is opposed to Christ. Is our confidence/hope/assurance in those “highs” of life where they are doing well in living like Christ, and then does it subsequently diminish when there is a low point of failure, foolishness, misunderstanding/misapplication of the way of Christ? This might point toward a “season” (or point in time) view of their faith journey rather than seeing those highs/lows and placing them on a timeline to assess trajectory.
This past week there were three examples with young people that forced me to work hard at thinking about trajectory over time and not point in time. One example was hearing about a young person and the persistent conflict that seems to follow this person. That was discouraging to hear. At the same time, it was a prompt for prayer as well as to step back and remember what I have been seeing over time. I’m still conflicted with this one since change has been slow. Trajectory over time kept my prayer focused and compelled me to think of a next step of encouragement/challenge to use. A second example is of a young person who has a strong interest/hobby that is no doubt central to their life. Again, this can be discouraging at first glance as I focused on “where is Christ in this?” and dwelling on “this is a hindrance to Christ”. However, after thinking more about this maybe this is a means that the Lord uses to draw him closer to Himself? So again, I moved from discouragement to focused prayer and considering ways to enter into this strong interest/hobby to use it to bring Christ to this young person. A third example includes a young person sharing details of their studies about God. It was an encouraging time to hear from them and what they learned. I also found myself over analyzing the details, so I had to pull out of that to think that in the trajectory of time this is what is reasonable to hear from a young person who is newer in their theology journey. From that, prayer focused on the Lord using their efforts to shape/mold their beliefs and thoughts, and that the time spent would also encourage connection to daily living and real life decisions in front of them.
As a final encouragement, consider your own life. What were your patterns of thinking and living1 year ago compared to today, or 5 years ago, or 10 years ago, so you see a trajectory over time of progressive sanctification? Not at any point of time, the low points or high points, but over time? Just as the Lord has patiently persisted in shaping you into the image of Christ (Rom 8:28-30), reflect this patience persistence as you come alongside young people. In all that friends, we “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4), provide the guardrails of God’s truths from the Scriptures, discipline that shapes these things into young people, embody them ourselves so that the living examples of the truths are visible, and an example of how to handle failure through the gospel of Christ. And we do this over time
Photo Credit: Isaac Smith, Unsplash
