Global Faith

Paul wrote to the church at Colosse about the observable spiritual growth that was taking place there,
a growth that we can aspire to display. Colossians 1 states:
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth...

The faith of the Colossians was certainly tangible - Paul had heard of their faith.  He also commented on the "truth of the gospel," which was "bringing forth fruit."  What an incredible goal for us - our personal faith can be observed by people, and as we incorporate God's Word into our hearts and minds and allow it to change us, people will hopefully see that and perhaps be drawn into a closer walk with God.  The Word is a powerful force through which our perspective and behavior are transformed.

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Because we have been born again, we have been placed on a trajectory on which we can progress to spiritual maturity - always learning, setting ourselves to grow.  And there are certain "best practices"
that can help us to facilitate that growth. 1st Peter 2 says:
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The level of devotion expressed by Christians around the world has been measured by a new Pew Research study, which found that Africa, south of the Sahara Desert and Latin America are two regions where the practice of Christianity is particularly strong.  Of course, count the U.S. in, as well.

The summary of the survey relates:

The study analyzed 84 countries with sizable Christian populations. In 35 of those countries, at least two-thirds of all Christians say religion is very important in their lives. All but three of these 35 countries are in sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America. (The three exceptions are the U.S., Malaysia and the Philippines.)

Remarkably, in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study summary, "Over 75% in every country surveyed in the region say religion is very important to them." Also in that region, "Christianity is rapidly growing, largely due to high fertility rates." Conversely, "At the other end of the spectrum, levels of religious importance are lowest among Christians in Europe, where deaths outnumber births among Christians."

Also, with regard to Africa and Latin America, we learn this:

Christians in Africa and Latin America also tend to pray and attend church at higher rates than Christians in most of the rest of the world. For instance, at least four out of five Christians in Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Cameroon and Chad pray every day. Prayer frequency is just as high in six Latin American countries, including Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay.

Similarly, in every African country surveyed, more than 60% of Christians say they attend church at least weekly. In Latin America, more than two-thirds of Christians in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador also report weekly attendance.

The United States is hanging in there, though - the summary states, "Nearly seven-in-ten U.S. Christians (68%) say they pray daily, while 47% say they attend church at least weekly."  This puts the U.S. in somewhat of a special class - a few points below the more fervent in parts of Africa and Latin America, but significantly higher than other so-called "rich" democracies, such as those in Europe.  Here are some stats from that continent: "only 12% of Christian adults in Germany and 11% in the United Kingdom say religion is very important in their lives." Also...

Prayer frequency is lowest among Christians in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Malaysia, where fewer than 10% of Christians pray daily. Likewise, fewer than 10% of Christians report attending church weekly in nine European countries, including Denmark, Estonia and Russia.

Keep in mind that the Middle East was largely not included in the project, presumably due to the smaller Christian population.  Israel and Egypt were measured, with 58 and 50 percent respectively saying that religion was important in their lives.

We can consider a few concepts here:

First of all, we can be challenged to measure our own commitment level - and while there may be a number of components in a rubric to evaluate our walk with Christ, using just the criteria in the Pew survey, we can examine how important our Christian faith is in our life, our regularity of prayer, and church attendance.  If Jesus is our Lord, then we recognize that He is to occupy the first place in our hearts and the top priority of our life.

Something else stuck out to me: The relationship of prayer and wealth is interesting, because, as we know, our spiritual condition is not determined by our level of income, although how we use that income can be an indicator of our spiritual condition.  And, you could say there is a tendency, when there are greater resources available, those can impact our dependence on God.  Our Heavenly Father, according to James 1, is the giver of all good gifts, and we can possess the heart attitude of being generous with what He has entrusted to us.

Finally, we acknowledge that God is certainly at work throughout the world, and while there does seems to be great spiritual fervor in parts of Africa and Latin America, which includes Central and South America, we also know that Europe has experienced a lengthy spiritual decline, which, of course, can provide an opportunity for the gospel.  And, even here in the U.S., there are many who do not know Christ.  We can be responsive to the Lord as He provides those meaningful encounters through which we can share His love and truth.