Thriving...in Spite of It

It’s funny that with all the testing we have in our lives, from SATs to MRIs, blood sugar and skills tests, COVID and drug tests, personality assessments, and pregnancy tests, we resist the idea that our faith will be tested, too.  We rely on both the necessity and the results of tests that tell us our water is safe to drink or our 16-year-olds are ready to drive, but we question — we are even horrified and offended, if we were completely honest — the fact that sometimes our faith must be tested, too.  So, what’s the purpose? As with any test, we could look to the old business axiom that tells us “whatever gets measured gets improved.” While the original source of this quote is disputed, the concept is applied universally, whether consciously or not. The point is, assessing things periodically is the key to improving them. We need to increase our faith, whatever amount we have, so we must not only recognize when it’s being tested but also honestly and humbly accept whatever that test