Reining in a Worldly and Wishy-Washy Faith
By Jessica Brodie
Have you ever veered off-track when life went haywire?
When I was a kid, my family went to church, but I wasn’t a genuine Jesus-follower. While I knew the Lord and believed in him, my heart was divided. I heeded the self and cultivated a me-first attitude. Somehow I got the impression that the world and its approval—and its morals and values—held equal standing with God’s approval. I didn’t give God the respect God deserves.
And later, when I went astray and walked apart from the Lord for a time, it was pretty easy to do because my foundation wasn’t firm. My foundation was flimsy, worldly, false.
Things changed when I wanted to become a mother. For, while I still had a long way to go from a faith perspective, I knew what I wanted to do—I wanted to raise my children in the Lord. I wanted to give them a strong foundation and an upbringing that involved church and authentic faith and prayer. I wanted to model Christian love and service and mercy and forgiveness, even if I didn’t fully understand all those concepts. In fact, I promised God I would do so.
And I kept my promise—I did commit my kids to the Lord. I did raise them in the church. I did what I could to give them a good foundation, to help them understand that in our house, we follow the Lord’s doctrines and beliefs first. God prevails, not the ways of the world.
I fell short in many ways, and I know there were lots of things I could’ve done better, but I kept my word. I know in my heart my kids have the right foundation.
See, a good foundation supports everything else in life. If the foundation isn’t secure, steady, or strong, it will fall at the first sign of trouble. And we all know life brings trouble.
It reminds me of what Jesus said in the parable of the wise and foolish builders, about how a house built on sand will crumble in a storm, but a house built on a firm foundation will remain (Matthew 7:24-27).
It also reminds me of the parable Jesus shared about the sower. As he said in Matthew 13, a farmer went out to plant seeds for his farm, and some of the seeds he brought with him fell on the path or on rocky ground. When the sun came out, they sprouted, then dried up fast. Without roots, they were destined for an early death.
Some more of the seeds fell into thorny soil, and while at first they did OK, the thorns slowed it all down, strangled their potential, and they, too, withered away.
But Jesus said the seeds that fell into good soil became something that mattered—good, healthy, capable plants, eventually ready for the harvest.
That was the sort of soil I wanted to cultivate, the kind of family I wanted to raise—a family of “good soil” people, not superficial or rocky or choked by the weeds of the world. Not wishy-washy. Proper soil, healthy soil. Sustainable and strong with the right foundation.
I’m still guilty being too worldly, sometimes wanting to please people instead of the Lord. But I strive to be different.
And I pray that I took the seeds given to me and made them better for my children, and their children, and their children’s children.
Amen. Thanks be to God.
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