Refining Faith



I remember being at College in my earlier years of education and I met another student called Gem who befriended me. The entire time, Gem was building up a friendship to try and convert me to Islam. I was brought up in the Catholic Church, but I had not read my Bible in such a long time. 


I still loved God, but I had become so caught up in the world that I no longer turned to my Bible. Gem started to tell me things about Islam, and due to me being so far away from the true Word, he almost had me convinced. I was so close to Islamic conversion because he could see I had a love for God that lacked knowledge. 


This made it very easy for him to fill in the gaps and manipulate me. I remember going home feeling so confused and feeling so torn. Something just didn’t feel right. I turned to my Bible and received the Word and it reopened my eyes. 


I went back to college and told Gem that I was sorry but I could not convert and from that moment on, he never spoke a word to me again. This is why I say it is important to not only love God with all your heart, but to also come to know God in the knowledge. 


The brain cannot function without the heart. Equally, the heart cannot function without the brain. Without blood flowing between them both, neither can survive. The same can be said with your relationship with Christ. 


Without the brain, you can love but do not know why you love. Without the heart, you can know the reasons why you love, yet feel nothing within that love. If the brain is knowledge of God’s Word and the heart is the love of God’s word, then the blood is the spirit in which keeps everything alive. 


In Ephesians 2:8 we are told that “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” which tells us that we cannot be saved by our own works so that no one may boast. Yet in James 2:17 we are told that “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” You see, you cannot have one without the other. 


When evangelising, it’s important that we soften the heart when sharing the Word, but we must also sharpen the mind with knowledge so the Word is not only received with love but also received with the confidence in knowledge of what that love means. 


Has someone ever told you they love you but when you ask them ‘for what reason do you love me?’ And they respond “I just do”? As pure as this may seem, it becomes meaningless without reason. The same can be deduced when someone may do nice things for you, yet they never tell you they love you. 


For our hearts to be truly fulfilled, our minds must also be satisfied. For if the mind is not satisfied but the heart is, it creates a chasm that enables the heart to be deceived. In Matthew 7:24-25 we are not only called to build but to become wise builders. To be a builder is not enough, but we must do so in the Word to become wise. 


You must strengthen and refine your faith from all angles. Do not just love God but come to know God. Do not just know God but come to love God. Be the wise builder to which strong foundations are laid. 


We live in an epoch where more people are disconnected. There are many born with neurological dysfunctions whereby a child with autism does not understand the connection between hugs and love. However, give them a reason and they can process this and this eventually does open their heart. 


We must evangelise in the faith, but we must also be defenders of the faith. When evangelising we must do so in love, knowledge and in the spirit. It makes better sense to equip other Christians with such things so their faith can never be tested or broken. We do not just want you to know that God loves you, we also want you to know why He loves you. Equally the next time you pray, don’t just say to God “I love you Father”. Tell him why you love him.  

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