Building a Faith That Can Bear the Load

Before a new bridge ever opens, engineers do not just hope it is safe. They test it. And then they test it again.

Why? Because you do not gamble with people’s lives. Anything that is meant to last has to be strong enough to carry weight.

The same is true of us. We can look fine on the outside. But the real test comes when life puts pressure on us. Stress. Setbacks. Disappointments. That is when we find out whether our faith can actually bear the load.

That is why our mission at Calvary is to raise followers of Jesus who grow stronger together.

How does that happen?

How Faith Is Strengthened

Paul answers that question in Colossians 2: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6–7)

Paul describes spiritual growth using three interconnected ideas.

First, we are rooted. That is something established in the past with ongoing results. If you are a Christian, you have already been planted in Christ, and those roots are still holding you firm.

Second, we are being built up. This is ongoing. Brick by brick, God is shaping your life.

And third, we are strengthened in the faith. That word carries the idea of reinforcement, stability, and confirmation. But how does that strengthening actually happen?

Paul tells us. It happens through being taught the gospel and truly understanding what it means.

When Truth Shapes Both Head and Heart

Paul writes earlier in Colossians: “The gospel is bearing fruit and growing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” (Colossians 1:6)

The gospel changes lives. And it does so by shaping both our head and our heart.

Our head needs truth. Sound teaching matters. Doctrine matters. Truth anchors us when the ground feels unsteady.

But truth alone is not enough.

Our heart needs transformation. The truth we know must shape what we love, desire, and trust.

When we emphasize one without the other, problems follow. A full head without a transformed heart leads to pride. A warm heart without truth drifts into feelings without foundation.

The gospel is where head and heart come together.

How the Gospel Reaches Us

The gospel does not usually arrive through abstractions. It comes through people.

Paul reminds Timothy of this when he writes: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice.” (2 Timothy 1:5)

This is not just mentoring. Paul is saying, “I see a living faith that has been passed down.”

Some of us are the beneficiaries of a kitchen-table faith that was lived out in front of us. Others have the privilege of being the first in their family to start that story.

If you are a parent wondering how to help your children love God, start with a different question. How do I help my children know that God loves them?

Paul also points to the church: “The things you have heard me say… entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

We can learn about Jesus on our own. But we are formed by the communities we belong to.

I stand on the shoulders of Sunday School teachers who faithfully showed up week after week. One of them worked on an assembly line during the week and taught a squirrelly kid every Sunday. He died young, but his influence shaped my marriage, my parenting, and my ministry.

That is the quiet power of a faithful church.

A Faith That Does Not Happen by Accident

A strong faith does not happen by accident. It is reinforced over time.

• In homes and dorm rooms.
• In small groups and classrooms.
• Over coffee and conversation.

Ordinary people strengthening one another’s faith.

That is how you build a faith that can carry the weight of life. And that is how you build a church that will last.

Strong foundations. Shared truth. Lives shaped together.

That is what it means to be strengthened in the faith.