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:
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
Weighty faith
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
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