Thrillseekers Wanted—There’s More to Faith Than Just Believing

In American evangelicalism, the goal of faith appears to center on believing the right thing—believing the gospel. But if “belief” is the only goal of the gospel, then once a person believes, life is futureless. We’ve done it all; we’ve finished the race. I’m not suggesting that belief isn’t critical or that it isn’t the place where we must start, but isn’t there more?

It seems that Jesus and the early church were less about believing in something to “get ready for eternity” than they were about creating a community of people who embraced a new kind of living. Today, however, only a relative few think of Christianity as a call to enter a new way of life—a life wild with adventure, mission, and divine destiny. Faith for many is nothing more than fire insurance from hell, some acquiescence to rule-keeping, and a safety net of forgiveness when we break the rules. From this perspective, the human experience of faith isn’t much more than a life of stumbling and bumbling around holding on to faith the best we can until Christ sees fit to come and rescue us.

But what if the Christian life is supposed to be more than that? What if God is inviting us to participate in some kind of divine quest?

I think God put a thirst for adventure in all of us. We have a drive that wants to make a difference—that wants to glorify God. We don’t have to settle for being bean-counting legalists who only color between the lines. We can be spiritual pioneers; adventurers who dare to explore what a life fully committed to God can really look like. And I’ve discovered something that can help in that quest—the ancient art of vow-making.

A vow is a promise made to God. It is simply our own unrequired, promised love-act directed toward God and the cause of His kingdom. Vows can be attached to anything one wishes to commit to—and they can vary in duration from a single afternoon to a particular season of life to an entire lifetime. Vows help us intentionally move in the direction we feel the Holy Spirit nudging us to bring God’s kingdom to bear in our world. Vows help us push past spiritual laziness and worldly distraction.

Truth be told, I love God less than I want to. Oh, I have my moments when my faith is white hot, but those moments don’t seem to last. I want to love God more than I do. And I want to be more radical in my participation in the kingdom of God—not because I have to in order to be “saved,” but because we all get one shot at this gift called “life,” and I want to live it as large as I can for God. That’s how I stumbled onto the path of vow-making.

Vow-making affords the believer a way to love God extra. I’m not saying we should try to love Him extra in order to make Him love us more—He loves us period, not in response to what we do or don’t do. However, I do think there is plenty of room in the faith enterprise for us to love God extra—room for us to be caught up in an infatuation with the Holy. And I don’t want to just think about that; I want to respond to that. I want to be eager—even passionate—to go the extra mile in my faith walk. For me, vow-making has become another tool in my spiritual tool box to realize that dream.

Give it a try. Consider stepping out in adventure and making your own promise to God. Pledge your love and pursue His destiny. Happy vowing.

This article was originally printed in CS magazine.