Have you Checked your Vital Signs Recently?

Having many doctor’s appointments this year, I've had my vital signs checked more than some people do in a lifetime! Yesterday, as I watched the nurse take my temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure, it occurred to me there are also corresponding vital signs of faith that determine our spiritual vitality.

Paul tells us that “In Christ, we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), roughly translated “He is our life and breath.” Christ is the force of life coursing through our veins; our hearts beat with His; His Word is the air we breathe. Yes indeed, Christ is our life (Col. 3:3) but we can only experience such vitality to the degree we live by faith and not by our senses.

And absent His vitality, our hearts grow cold, our passion wanes, our prayers become lifeless, and our ministries stale. If we’ve been feeling spiritually anemic lately, or having shortness of breath (His), perhaps it is time to examine our vital signs to see whether we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).