Faith. In Hebrews we hear that God rewards those who seek Him. And without faith it is impossible to please Him. Faith. It always seems our faith is being tested. And at times it seems to be a hard-to-find and rare commodity. The secular world doesn’t care about faith. The world strives to shape us by material and physical things. What good is faith? We want proof. If you can’t see it or hold it in your hand, then what’s the point? So, why do we care about faith? Why does God care about faith? Well, some questions simply cannot be answered by our material world. Recently I received news that a friend from high school had died. I asked what happened and was told simply he died in his sleep. Mortality. I honestly am not afraid to die, but this got me thinking about my mortality. I’m a creature of habit. I share some habits with my late uncle George. Uncle George went to bed early. He got up early. He made coffee every morning. And he would take a cup of coffee to his wife in bed. A little thing, but I’m a believer that small acts of service add up to a better life for everyone. My uncle told me that one morning he said to my aunt, "are you going to get up or what?" It turned out it was 'or what'. I thought about the notion that some morning I just won’t wake up. What then? What happens when we die? Is that it? Fade to nothingness? Slide into oblivion? Our moment on earth is just a meaningless blip that blends into the timeline of history as though we never even existed? God promises otherwise. We can’t see into the future. We don’t have evidence that there is anything else. So why would we think otherwise? Why should we trust God? I want proof! God presents scripture. No, I mean real evidence. God presents witnesses from the disciples to those around us who testify to God’s work in their lives. I need to know! God says, let’s sit and talk a while. Isn’t it funny? As much as I want proof, I also realize that establishing 2+2=4 does not produce a fuller life. A relationship with God produces a fuller life. And faith and trust are key to that relationship. And if I know this, why is faith and trust such a challenge? The disciples didn’t understand the transfiguration and had no clue what Jesus meant about rising from the dead. And yet they continued to follow Jesus. Why? They recognized how valuable a relationship with Jesus was in their lives. They had faith and trust. It’s not that it’s wrong to have question or doubts. God gave us a brain. But we have to be wary of being drawn into the world’s way of thinking. If we view ourselves solely by the world’s standards we will conclude we are unlovable. God says again and again how much He loves us. My prayer today is for those of us who struggle with faith and trust. That we could release some of that struggle and reap the reward of a better relationship with God. |