Now, the headache is past, it happened yesterday, it’s gone as if it never happened. There is no lingering effect, it’s gone and you are the same now as if you hadn’t had it at all. The lasting effects of it, however, are in the future, perhaps ten billion years from now you will still be enjoying the higher place in heaven because of how you handled that headache on earth. Why then are we so preoccupied with this little problem now? We are preoccupied with this life and have too little regard for the next life. When you look back on your present suffering ten years from now, it will be all forgotten or at least appear less relevant. How will it look 10,000 years from now? Like a star fading away in the distance. You get your sense of perspective from eternity. Do you believe in eternity itself? If you believe it, that’s secondary faith. How does it effect your life and everyday behavior? As Paul stated so dramatically in Colossians 3:3, "Have as little desire for things of this world as a dead person does."
In any kind of secondary faith that you touch upon, ask yourself those three inventory questions: Do I believe? Do I really believe? Do I act as if I believe?
Simple questions, but what a difference they could make! "A just man lives by faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). Living by faith means living in the heart of God. Paul’s injunction needs to be heeded frequently: "Test yourself, to see whether you really have faith" (II Corinthians 13:5; cf Romans 12:3).
Next Installment: Vertical Growth: Fertilizing Faith
February 24, volume 9, no. 39 DAILY CATHOLIC - COLUMNS