9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

 

I have thought that it would be interesting to come up with a game where various Christian sounding passages would be given and the goal for the player would be to try to figure out it is from the Bible or not.

 

If such a game existed, and this passage had been given to me, I would have been wrong. I would have said that this wasn’t in the Bible.

 

The part that would have gotten me is the seven words: “supply what is lacking in your faith”. Paul is saying this as if this is something he (and I assume) other humans can do. And I would have said – No, humans can’t do that for other people. Only God does that.

 

Before noting this passage I would have said it would be nearly blasphemous for one human to say of another “I can supply what is lacking in his faith”.

 

But yet is there, and must be possible. I assume it is possible and even prescribed for all Christians. And what an honor, if we get the calling to do this.

 

Since one of my most significant relationships as a Christian is with my children, I typically try to consider passages in light of my role as a father. So it seems to me that this passage suggests that I should try to supply what is lacking in my son’s and daughter’s faith. I thank God that he is using me in this way. I need to make it a higher goal.

 

Pieces are missing; I must do my best to fill the gaps.