Faith

 I’ve been a Christian for more than thirty years and so, as a “person of faith,” you’d think that of all the weighty words I’ve been discussing in this series of blogs, the word “faith” would be an easy one for me. But you’d be mistaken. As I’ve done with previous words, I think I can come up with a reasonable working definition for the word faith, but, being transparent with you, I’ve wrestled with what it truly means to “have faith” in a practical way, and why God places such weight on us needing to have faith at all.

So let’s start with some definitions. Many years ago someone taught me a simple acronym using the letters in the word “FAITH” to define it.  It’s “Forsaking All, I Trust Him.” In essence this simple definition equates faith with trust. I’ve heard teachers and preachers give the example of having faith in the pilot of an airplane to be able to fly the plane and get you safely where you want to go. Or another I’ve heard is having faith in the chair you’re about to sit on to bear your weight and not collapse in a heap on the floor.  In both of these examples, faith is synonymous with trust.

Turning to the Bible, the classic definition of faith is given in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, which starts out with the following definition and then goes on to give several examples of people demonstrating their faith in God over hundreds of years:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

 So, from a Christian perspective, faith is certainly about trust, but more specifically trusting God for things we can’t directly see or feel with our senses, things we can’t fully wrap our minds around, or things that have not yet happened. (I think this is where the pilot analogy comes in. Most of us don’t know how airplanes work or how to fly them, so our “faith” is based on someone else - the pilot - knowing how to make it work and get us there.) Faith is not just trust, but also connected with hope (my weighty word for next time!), and belief.

Object of faith 

I’ve heard it said that you just need to have faith, and sometimes the people saying that mean that you just need to have faith in something, whatever it is. These are generally well-meaning folk that want everyone to get along, and simply want to encourage others to have a spiritual side to their lives. I guess there’s some merit in this, but it rings hollow for me. I think the most important aspect of faith is actually the object of that faith. Reflecting on some of the examples I’ve already shared, it’s pretty evident that having faith in a chair is a whole different thing than having faith in the God who created the universe. So we need to reflect on who or what we put our faith in, along with our trust and hope. I’ve chosen to put my faith in Jesus and what is written about Him in the Bible. Others might put their hope in other religious ideas or ideologies, or put their faith in their country, or political party, or even in themselves. That’s their choice of course, but it’s hopefully clear that who or what you put your faith in is very important in steering your life and shaping who you are. In this regard, Jesus has never disappointed me, and so I wholeheartedly recommend having Him as the object of your faith.

Reasoned faith vs blind faith

Many years ago I overheard someone saying that you have to have a blind faith, and just trust God. I don’t accept that faith is totally blind, at least not the Christian faith to which I adhere. My own experience is that it’s possible to have a reasoned faith based on the evidence we see and what we read. God is logical, and I think He has given us plenty of evidence for His existence. The complexity of the universe, the laws of science, and even the simple fact that the physical universe exists, all point to a creator behind it all. The Biblical record of Jesus’ life, backed up by extra-Biblical writings, archeology, and the long history of the church, also provide tangible evidence that Jesus was and is real. So God gives us plenty of evidence that points toward Him. We can use logic and reason to help us seek God.  The ex-journalist turned author Lee Strobel has written several books and articles on this if you want to investigate more, including the book that describes his own personal journey from skepticism to faith in The Case for Christ.

Weighty faith

So, we have a decent definition of what faith is - trust, hope, belief - we recognize that the object or focus of our faith is important, and we note that we can use logic and reason to help us with faith in Jesus. So, why did I start this blog out by saying it’s a word I’ve wrestled with over the years? Well there are two aspects of faith I’ve grappled with: (1) why has God made faith so important, or even necessary at all, and (2) what does it mean to live by faith in the day-to-day?

Starting with the first one, the Bible makes it clear that faith is very important. Back in the book of Hebrews, a few verses down from the ones I quoted near the start of this blog, it says “…without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” I’ve always found it easy to accept that love is important: loving God and loving people is probably the strongest guiding principle for my life. But why does God place such an emphasis on having faith too? I really don’t have a good answer, except that He says it’s so, and that by having faith in Him I’m showing Him I love Him. I just have to accept it and I’m OK with that.

Possibly the harder one for me is trying to figure out how to live by faith. I’m an engineer, and one that tends to overthink things. This combination is not ideally suited to letting things go and simply living by faith. But when I do live that way - not worrying so much about everything or trying to figure it all out - trusting that God has things in hand and putting my focus on seeking Him, then I do experience a peace that’s hard to explain (see previous blog!) I’m definitely a work in progress when it comes to faith.

So what about you? What does the word faith mean to you?

Let me finish up with the lyrics from a song by Michael Card:

To hear with my heart, to see with my soul
To be guided by a hand I cannot hold
To trust in a way that I cannot see
That's what faith must be