A Measure of Faith

Romans 12:3 (NASB 2020)

“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

Many understand this verse to say that God allots great faith to some and little faith to others.

I don’t think that is what we are meant to take from this. It seems unjust to me and inconsistent with Father’s character. I think "a (or ‘the’ in the KJV) measure of faith" simply means that everyone is given faith. Everyone believes something.

That, in my view, is the spark that gives everyone the sense that there is something beyond this temporal life. It is what causes people to seek God, looking under every rock until they find Him or choose something else to worship.

To have greater faith, or grow in faith, means coming to believe with greater certainty, and that, to me, is trust. That's why I say “trust gives legs to faith.” It is by growing in our knowledge of Him, His vastness, His character, that our temporal lives are transformed without striving in the flesh. It is knowing Him relationally in a way similar to the way we know close friends, relatives, and spouses.

When we know what to expect of Him, how He sees things, what His love, mercy, grace, and justice require, our attitudes and actions reflect Him more consistently. Our conduct naturally becomes more godly.