Faith

My men's faith group, which meets every Thursday morning at 6:45am in the atrium at the church, doesn't seem to have met today. I arrived and waited for a while, but the church was dark and no one was about. I hope nothing's wrong with the group leader! I didn't see him this past Sunday at church either, and I always do. Since it didn't meet today, I figured I would write a post on faith and what it means to me.

Faith generally means, according to dictionary.com:

faith [feyth] noun
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.

 John tells us in 1 John 4:12:

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. NKJV

 Now, obviously, we don't just need "blind faith" to believe in God or Jesus; we have evidence from the Bible that He exists. Granted, non-believers (and this would include myself as recently as 8 months ago) would argue that this is no evidence at all, let alone proof, of the existence of a Heavenly Being. But the Bible is only one piece of evidence. For those who listen, God speaks to us at all times, in times of strife and times of plenty, in times of sorrow and times of joy. And to hear His voice, to feel His embrace, to sense His presence within and around us, is to feel the utmost of joy and jubilation. But beyond even that, we have the evidence of the world around us. His painted sunsets, the majesty of His creation, the beauty of a cool green glen with a spring, the desolate allure of the desert, the splendor of the sea are all reminders of His craft, His artistry, His love. So therefore, can the definition of "faith", which is so often used in the belief of God, that it is a belief in something without any proof, be the definition of our faith?

Perhaps at first, and even beyond the first surges of faith at the superficial, or physical, level. For when one first starts to have faith, it truly is without proof for that person. For how can there be proof of something that no one has ever seen when one is just beginning to believe? The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. And that's when the person new to faith finds that faith is not necessarily belief in something without proof. For when one has faith, one begins to commune with God, to talk with God rather than to God. For when one's faith stills the chaos, when one learns to listen without distraction, the voice of God can be heard. And while the Bible and the beauty of His creation around us are sufficient evidence, the proof comes from the actual ongoing dialogue with the Living God.

But if that's the case, why does one even need faith? According to Matthew 17:20:

So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." NKJV

And again we see a similar statement in Luke 17:6:

So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." NKJV

 Faith can move mountains and trees; it can remove obstacles from our paths, our minds, our hearts. Faith can cure the sick, uplift the downtrodden, get us through any crises. But this takes not just any faith, for faith can come in various degrees and levels. Faith must be complete, full, without any doubts; for when one doubts, one predicts a degree of failure and lack of trust in God. For as Mark 11:23 and 11:24 state:

"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." NKJV

So if one has faith, and one has no doubts at all within the boundaries of that faith (if such can be said, since faith should have no boundaries), then one can accomplish, through the will of Christ, whatever must be done. This is not to say that one can just expect to receive any desire, for desires that are for personal glory, personal satisfaction, personal profit, are not worthy of being asked. Acts that will promote well being for others, health for oneself, to bring down personal barriers that are holding one back from basking in the Glory of the Lord, these are all worthy acts and, should one's faith hold and doubt never enter into one's mind and heart, are acts that would be the mountain, or the mulberry tree. And it all begins with faith as small as a mustard seed.