Fermenting The Power Of Faith

Faith born from incarceration is usually a deep one. It is a faith found in despair and down on your knees, right where God wants you.

The late Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and before that, aide to Richard Nixon, was one such person. He was introduced to Christianity by a friend who gave him a copy of CS Lewis’s "Mere Christianity" as his arrest was imminent. As he did his time for his part in the Watergate scandal, his belief in God grew into an unshakeable faith. Cultivated in his prison cell, he spent the rest of his life spreading the word to others, inside and outside the bars.

A recent article in Salvo magazine, spoke of Colson’s belief that faith needed to be “fermented” and that the best way to spread our faith was to live it and let others see it in our lives.

The article contrasted this with what our current church culture seems to do, a sort of “carbonation” hoping that a quick shot of excitement will boost someone into a deep and lasting faith. It’s what I call the "Six Flags over Jesus" phenomenon.

A better method is perhaps that of William Wilberforce who with his contemporaries worked for decades to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire. His work succeeded although he didn't live to see its success.

Live your faith deeply and patiently. Truly believe, we are not of this world when Christ lives in us.