I lived near the state fairgrounds when I was a kid.  When the fair was on, my friends and I would go every day.  But money was scarce.

So, we would pool our cash and buy one ticket.  The first guy used it to enter the fair and then would exit. 

They stamped his hand so he could reenter later.  But he came out to the rest of us, and spit on the stamp to remoisten it, then transferred it to us by pressing it on our hands.

Then we would flash our stamps at the gate and get in.

How evil – and icky!  I know and I repent.  But it’s a great metaphor for the way many of us enter the faith – By transfer. 

Consider Israel.  God had helped them take possession of Canaan land. They were grateful.

Joshua 24:31 says, “And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord….” 

The key word here is, “known.”   Their leader, General Joshua, was a man who knew the Lord and His works.  He had interacted personally with God several times and had a deep faith commitment to God.

His counterpart today might be a guy we’ll call Zach, who came to Christ at age 22 after a life of mistakes.  When he met Jesus, he was transformed.  He was all in and his faith was red hot.

This wasn’t true of the generation that followed Joshua.  Judges 2:7 says, “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord…”

The key words here are, “had seen.” Absent is the word, “know.”   Joshua’s countrymen had seen God stop the flow of the Jordan River and cause the walls of Jericho to fall.  They were aware of God and what He did, but they didn’t know Him or have the intimate first-hand experience with God that Joshua had.   

They had a transfer faith.  It was pressed on them, so to speak, by Joshua.

Their counterpart today might be Zach’s kid Jason, who was raised in church.  He had learned the Christian way to think and act.  He was aware of some amazing answers to prayer.  But he lacked that first-hand transforming intimacy with God.  His daddy had been transformed.  Jason was conformed. His faith was lukewarm.

The transfer continued to the next generation.  Judges 2:10 describes it. “and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”

This gang did not know the Lord at all, nor had they been alive to see His works as the land was subdued.  All they had of God were dusty old stories.

Their counterpart might be Zach’s grandson Asher who didn’t bother pretending to act like a Christian.  His dad was lukewarm and not a sterling example of a Christian.  So, he gave up on church and grabbed all the world he could get.  His grandpa had been transformed, his daddy conformed, but Asher was misformed.  His was an ice-cold faith.

The dynamic at work is much like what we discovered back at the fairgrounds.  Every time the stamp was transferred, it became a weaker version of the original. 

Every individual needs a firsthand encounter with the living God.  To try to live the Christian life without it is senseless.

How intense is the stamp of faith in your life?  Are you red-hot, lukewarm, or ice-cold?  It only takes a decision to move to that first-hand experience.

Jesus spoke to lukewarm, second-generation Christians in Revelation 3:20. He said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” 

A PRAYER: Lord the door is open, we welcome your presence!

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture references from the KJV