Is Your Faith Genuine?

“Even today, when so many people instinctively grope for a kind of human security in ‘faith,’ it can happen that they are only partly seeking God. That is the danger of a ‘faith’ that is too intimately connected with the idea of ‘peace’ and psychological comfort.” – Thomas Merton

This quote reflects something that I have been thinking a lot about recently. There are so many people who think they are Christians and think they have faith and think they are safe in Jesus, when, in reality, they are not. Some people are searching for a type of security in faith. They claim to believe and even trick themselves into thinking that they are secure in Christ simply because they desire some kind of security of the mind. This security is completely false security. Merton is saying that the danger in this weak faith is just that; that people are tricking themselves into a sense of comfort that doesn’t really exist. When someone is so willing to put their fears to rest, they will sell out for cheap faith that provides security in nothing. Your soul is a huge price to pay for this tiny sense of temporary peace. Christians are called to genuine faith. Following Christ is not easy and if your only goal is avoiding hell and buying a one way ticket to heaven, then your goal will never be achieved. Genuine faith is priceless.