Faith and Practice...

Experiences in life are the best educator when it comes to one's walk with God. I have taught junior high and high school students for around 10 years now, and the biggest learning opportunities have been when they put their faith into practice. Head knowledge can be gained in the "classroom" or as a person studies the Bible. Where a person puts their head knowledge into practice is when that knowledge becomes true wisdom. The Apostle Paul uses the illustration of the training athlete in order to speak of the Christian life. When an athlete is training, knowledge is a definite need. He/she needs a teacher that is able to communicate what will have to happen in order for the athlete to be successful. However, knowledge alone will not bring that athlete success. That knowledge must be applied to the training, the experience, in order for there to be life-change and success in the athletic endeavor. I truly believe that is part of what Paul is getting at. We cannot rely just upon knowledge without the ability to apply that knowledge to various situations in our lives. It is not knowledge that saves us...it is the belief in who Christ is, what He did for us on the cross and accepting what He did in our place. Belief itself is NOT just knowledge. When we truly believe something, our lives change. That equates to knowledge and experience. Christ said that people would know that we are his disciples by how we love each other. That is an experience that we have with each other. Experience can also teach us more about God. We must put our faith into practice.