While at university, Pieter had a powerful conversion. He read the Bible diligently and deliberately made time to talk to God. This newfound faith changed his life, and he could not stop himself from sharing it with everyone he met. 

Later, he started hanging out with another group of friends. They slowly but surely influenced his faith. They weren’t atheists but preached a mixed theology – something between universal truth and self-fulfilment. They convinced Pieter that he should not have such a narrow perspective in his faith and that all religions were the same. 

As a result, he stopped reading his Bible. He was also no longer as involved in church and began to argue that faith is actually something personal and does not necessarily need to be taken seriously. 

After a few years, Pieter realised that he was no longer sure about his faith at all. The zeal he had previously had was gone. The truth he had so passionately preached had become vague and uncertain for him. 

One day, he was visiting a friend in whose life he had once played a major spiritual role. The friend looked him in the eye and asked: “Pieter, do you remember how you helped me come to believe in the Lord? What has happened to you since then?” 

Pieter became ice-cold when he heard those words. He realised that he was losing his anchor in Jesus. The path he was on was taking him further and further away from God. 

Right there, Pieter went down on his knees again with his friend whom he had helped to reach God. He begged the Lord for forgiveness and to be taken back. 

This story might not be that serious, but it is a reality in all of our lives. Somewhere along the way, we end up in seasons where our faith in God begins to fade. Sometimes people come to us and say, “You’re too serious”, or “Just enjoy life, there’s still plenty of time”.  

7-8There are a lot of smooth-talking con artists loose in the world who refuse to believe that Jesus Christ was truly human, a flesh-and-blood human being. Give them their true title: Deceiver! Antichrist! And be very careful around them so you don’t lose out on what we’ve worked so diligently in together; I want you to get every reward you have coming to you.  

We must regularly ask ourselves if we’re still on the right path. Is God still our first love, or has something else taken His place in our lives without us noticing it? You see, sometimes we don’t even realise that other things creep in unnoticed and start to take God’s place. 

 It may not be friends, as in Pieter’s case, but something else that tries to steal our faith. That is why we must always be on guard. Constantly ask yourself if you’re still as passionate as when you accepted Jesus as your Saviour. 

Don’t let someone or something cause you to lose your faith and miss out. Instead, let’s constantly repent and serve God with devotion. 

Scripture
2 John 1:7-13 

Reflection
Are you still serving God as you did in the beginning?
What has changed?
Why has it changed? 

Prayer
Father, I must confess that my faith in You has begun to wane. Help me believe again, like I did at the beginning, and to live with you daily. Amen.