It’s difficult to know which path to embark on, especially for us young people. Several influences push us to choose certain paths over others. Influences from our peers, from society, and from our lives seek to guide us in a direction to lean on. Moreover, the main influence, our desires, tends to direct us on the path with the most pleasure and freedom. With that in mind, why would you and I choose a path paved by God? Why should you and I have faith and be faithful to God?
From an earthly perspective, the decision of choosing God over everything is not a satisfying one. You choose to leave all the pleasures and worldly experiences behind and solely practice what God says and wants. However, in the long run, the forever run, it’s the best decision each one of us should make.
All paths besides the godly one have numerous promises. Those promises are truly tempting and that’s why many choose them. They promise subjects that our bodies desire. Moreover, they seem to be the most satisfying ones. Nonetheless, when we look at those who got the pinnacle of all of them combined, these promises do not deliver what most expect. In the end, many find those promises to be deceitful and they become disappointed. Furthermore, they remember that their present lives will determine their future eternal lives; hence making these promises even more dismaying. The only path that guarantees fulfillment in our present lives and our lives after death is to choose to have faith and be faithful to God.
One might say, “I have heard that countless times,” and be bored out of the suggestion of choosing God. One might not see the rich goodness that comes with this choice. So, let’s address the reasons why you and I should make this decision.
Firstly, one has to receive the gracious gift of salvation, by faith through grace, and have Jesus as their Lord and Savior. By doing so, you are saved, forgiven from all your sins, and become a child of God. When this step has been made, you can now have full access to God. You can now have the possibility to have faith and be faithful to God.
Naturally, the path of faith and faithfulness to God is a challenging one. This choice is, literally, a devotion to the perfect Being who created all things that exist. We are imperfect creatures. With our own efforts and might, it’d be impossible to be and remain faithful to God. Yes, when we become Christians we are new creatures and we are different from our past selves, but we still live in this world and still have those earthly desires. This factor complicates our decision to be faithful to God.
Thankfully, we will not have to rely on ourselves. As children of God, we have the best foundation to rely on and the foundation is our God. To be faithful to God and have faith in Him, we have to trust Him and His very own faithfulness. God is consistently faithful to us, He guides us, and He loves us. With this truth, we can be assured that in being faithful to Him, we let ourselves in His hands. We believe that He knows us and our lives. In return for His faithfulness and love, we are called to demonstrate our own faithfulness and faith in Him through our actions and decisions. The actions and decisions we are to take are those that honor and glorify Him and also make good use of all He has given to us
To reach this point, we are called to have God as our top priority. Our lives should revolve around the guidance of His Word. It won’t come without benefits. As 2 Timothy 2:11-13 rightfully states, “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. (NKJV)” When we make that decision of being faithful to Him, He will also be faithful to us. And when God is faithful to you, you are sure that whatever may come, you will be okay.
Furthermore, by being faithful we become an example to everyone. We become an influence for good while we are in the world. We won’t have the worldly things that many desire, but we will have what most yearn for—a life filled with the presence of God. Our faith and faithfulness to God will be a demonstration to others that there is a better path and there is hope.
