Most Holy Faith
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit keep yourselves in God’s love.
Jude 20-21a, NIV
It’s quite rare that I think of my faith as my ‘most holy faith,’ but I love how this passage invites us to reflect. As Christians, it’s easy to become fixated on the things that seem important or prestigious. We focus so much of our energies on building our businesses, ministries or working hard for our families. We long for respect, honor, recognition or some kind of acknowledgement from those around us that we’re making good decisions and making our way in the world.
It’s not surprising that we often apply this ambition to our faith (and here, clergy can be among the worst offenders!). We want to do extraordinary feats in God’s name, to leave our mark on the communities we serve and on the world. This is not wrong, but neither is it the ‘most holy faith.’
For most of us, building the ‘most holy faith’ happens in the places of drudgery and the mundane, the unnoticed places of prayer, and the simplest acts of love and faith in the name of God. True faith has its markers here–in the small, unseen and unglamorous parts of life. This is what keeps us in the love of God: our daily devotion in these hidden steps of faith, where there is no one but our Heavenly Father there to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Humble us Lord to seek You in the everyday. May Your Holy Spirit teach us to see Your face in those places where we have overlooked it. Give us joy in serving You where it will never be known or acknowledged, and through it all, keep us in Your love. Amen.
