A leap of faith

https://odb.org/2025/09/30/a-leap-of-faith

Ephesians 2:1-5,8-10 (NIV): 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

A yatch that has lost its rudder and rigging basically has lost control of its directions. It is dead on the water. It will go wherever the wind or tide brings it. It could drift far into the open seas or just go round and round in circles within a certain area. Whatever it is, it will not likely reach its destination unless help arrives.

It’s a good picture of who we were before we knew Christ. We were dead in our transgressions and sins as Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:1. That was how we used to live when we followed the ways of the world and of the ruler of the air. There was a time when we lived gratifying the cravings of our flesh, following its thoughts and desires. But because of His great love for us, God made us alive in Christ, although we were dead. For it is by the grace of God that we were saved through faith. It is a gift of God, not by works so no one can boast. Indeed, we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The question this morning is: Are we still like our old self even after knowing Christ? Are we still living gratifying the cravings of our flesh, its thoughts and desires? Or have we genuinely taken the leap of faith, lovingly and willingly embracing the transformative power of Christ? There is a question of our service, and yet, more importantly, there is the question of our character. Have we made peace with God, or are we still waiting until our dying breath? Are we still unwilling to lift our one foot off the land and sail off in our boat into the horizon with God at the helm? I believe most of us who know Christ have had to make that call to give our all to Christ. Most of us hesitate and keep our options open, with our feet on both sides of the divide. We need to take that leap of faith, and we need to do it now! Not tomorrow or one day, as tomorrow or that day may never come.