A Spiritual Recipe

But to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Rom. 4:5.

If you want to produce apples, the best thing you can do is plant an apple tree. And if you want to produce the fruits that correspond to the Christian life, the best thing you can do is be a Christian. Because an apple tree, remember, please, produces apples because it is an apple tree, not to become an apple tree. And the Christian does what is right because he is a Christian, never to become a Christian. The problem for many young people today is that they try to do what is right to become Christians, and they are certainly mistaken.

So, what is the faith that works? The best way to define faith is to consider it synonymous with trust. The question then is:

How do we learn to trust? We learn to trust someone when we start to know them. And generally, we do not trust anyone until we know them. God is trustworthy, certainly, but you will never trust him if you do not know him. If you know God, you will trust him, and you will do so spontaneously. When you see someone who distrusts God, rest assured that that person does not know God.

When you have a glimpse of what Christianity really is, you come to know what it means to know Jesus. Many professing Christians get to this point and say, 'No thanks; I do not want that religion; I want a kind of Christianity in which I can do something for myself.' But our ego deflates when we come to Jesus and tell him, 'Lord, it seems to me that you are right; I believe that I cannot do it. I would like to put everything in your hands.'

Now, how can it be done? Let's get to the heart of the matter. Here is our recipe: take time, alone, at the beginning of each day, to seek Jesus through his word and through prayer. This is all you can do, plus the surrender of your will, to become a Christian. You cannot do anything else. If you do not do this, you will not be a Christian. You will just live a good vegetative life. But God invites you to live a higher life, not merely a vegetative one. He invites you to be aware of his presence and know his power in your life today and every day: this is what true Christianity consists of.