Thoughts on Justification and Faith

I had a meeting at church this morning that was a discussion on the justification of believers by God through Christ's work in his death and resurrection. Believers are justified by faith. Our sins are paid for, and we are credited with Christ's righteousness...his sinlessness and his complete obedience and faithfulness. God sees us as his children, spotless like Jesus. An amazing thing. I am completely unworthy, as are all human beings. This justification occurs when we believe God, specifically what he says about the substitutionary atonement in Christ's life. Just as Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, so it is with the believer today (Genesis 15). This justification occurs at the ititial acceptance of Jesus as our savior and remains intact for eternity. It is not dependent on our actions. During this discussion, my thinking drifted to the ebb and flow of my faith over time. There are days I struggle and wonder if I really believe. This is very disturbing to me but frequently it is short lived, often replaced through the struggle with a fire in my belly for God. We talked about faith being manifested in our actions just as a 3 year old girl jumps from the pool side to her waiting father's arms, because she believes he will catch her. She is afraid but jumps anyway, because she has faith in her father. Actions relating to God in this way bring us assurance of our faith particularly if done in obedience to a command of God (John 14:21). As I thought about things, it became clear to me that concern over whether I have faith in God is actually a manifestation of having faith in God. In other words, I would not be concerned about my faith if I didn't believe because it wouldn't matter to me. Praise be to all mighty God for reassurance today and for his great gift of justification to those who believe what he says.