Faith as Preparation

I was teaching Sunday School today and covering the topic of faith. Faith is to me an essential part of preparation. The Lord has told us to prepare ourselves. I feel that this includes living one's life in accordance with the teachings of the prophets. This would thus include spiritual , physical and intellectual preparation.

Why do we need to do all that preparing? What makes it worth the effort?

Faith answers that question. If we prepare for what might happen, when things go wrong in our lives, that preparation may bring the peace and comfort which we will need. If we don't prepare, we will not be blessed with that comfort and will not have peace. Some may say that just by preparing, those benefits are there, but faith was not involved. But if we have no faith that such preparation is needed, will we prepare?

Some people will prepare physically. Others will prepare intellectually. Yet others will prepare spiritually with no thought to any other preparation. Faith tells me that I must combine all three if I am to reap the promised benefits. Any lack of preparation will diminish the blessings sought. It will not prevent blessings, but they will be diminished. Where there is ignorance of how to prepare, we may have that lack met by the Lord, but where we know to prepare and choose not to, we will not be worthy of those attendant blessings.

So if nothing bad ever happens to me or to my family, I will still live a blessed life of peace simply because I took the time and made the effort to prepare. I will have lost nothing as so many will argue. I may not have gained as much as some, but I will not have lost anything.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.