No pearls without sand

What I mean by this is that how faith is established and grows is a blurry process because it isn’t cut and dry. Often, we think that to have faith is to have all the answers, or understand everything that such faith entails. But I assure you, that is not the case. In fact, the first inkling of faith may not understand much of anything.

To have faith in something is to find it plausible. That is the initial grain of sand in the pearl. As one learns more about the ramifications of what such faith means and still finds the initial grain of sand plausible, the faith grows and solidifies. Much like the pearl adding layers. The more layers are added the more protected the initial grain of faith is, the less likely for something to replace that grain of sand. Some examples would be faith in the love that a spouse or parent has for you, or faith that eating vegetables is good for your health.

Here is the beauty: all one needs to be right before God is the initial grain of faith that Jesus’ death and resurrection were for your sake. It may be a tenuous and vulnerable grain, but that is it. The rest of life is all about growing the pearl.