A live faith moves under its own power

Studies have revealed that children identify something as alive by whether or not it can move on its own.

Children think clouds are alive until it is explained to them that the wind, not the cloud, is moving the cloud.

A car is alive until the child realizes there is such thing as a combustion engine that makes the car move and that a person steers and controls the car.

At some point any child realizes her faith is alive.

And then the world and classmates and family members and teachers and philosophers and preachers and small group leaders and missionaries and the child herself might begin to speak about all the things that actually move the faith.

Church can be the place where people come to fully realize their faith as alive.

Or it can be the place that convinces people that in actuality their faith is simply an inanimate object moved around by religion, selfishness, complacency, and certainty.

When asked if an alive turtle would be just as much alive if it was a robot instead of a turtle, a youngster replies:

"It would be alive enough."

I wonder how often that child goes to our church.