What would you do if you knew that you could not fail? The question is designed to evaluate your faith. It is a hearty challenge that requires us to stop and define why we could not fail. Consider the definition of faith found in Hebrews 11:1. It says that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If we have faith, we will act. We will act assuredly of the things in which we hope. More than that, our actions are driven by our full conviction of the Truth. So, as long as we have faith, we cannot fail.
So, what would you do if you could not fail? The truth is that I am afraid to answer the question. When I attempt to, I see that I think way too small. Consider the examples Paul uses in Hebrews 11. He calls out Abel’s offering, Enoch’s cheating death, Noah and his ark, Abraham sacrifices Isaac, Jacob traveling to foreign lands, Sarah and her baby, Joseph takes over Egypt, Rahab welcomed spies, Gideon won the battle, Barak conquered Sisera, Samson massacred an entire army of Philistines, Jephthah defeated the Ammonites, David became the king, Samuel prophesied for all of Israel, and all the prophets, well, you get the idea. This is a list of the faithful. This is what the faithful do.
So, what would I do if I knew I could not fail? Apparently, I would do what I am doing now. Unfortunately, doing what I am already doing doesn’t get close to the life that God created for me. That’s true for you too. Sadly, few of us ever determine to become the creatures of infinite joy that God created us to be. Why not? I find an interesting answer from C.S. Lewis. He says,
Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
It is time that we ask God, directly, what we are missing. We need not be afraid of the answer. Do you know why? The truth is that you cannot fail. You cannot fail because you have already won. Jesus paid for this victory on the cross. All we have to do is claim the victory and relish in His glorious celebration.