In Ezekiel God makes a covenant with Israel, that sounds a lot like wedding vows (because it was meant to be a wedding vow). God promises to transform their (and our) hearts as we follow after him passionately. That part of following God is that it changes us deeply.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus outlines a variety of ways that we are to live out our faith. Part of that is an assumption that to believe in Jesus changes our lives, and how we live. The word for belief in the bible assumes that you both comprehend and agree with something in your mind, and that your knowledge of that transforms your heart, mind, and actions.

The easiest person to blame when things are not how we want them is someone else, truly anyone else besides me. Being an alongsider means that we have a responsibility for our own faith, our own growth, our own relationship with God. That we will chose to pursue God, to ask questions, to dig into our faith.