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Sunday, October 07, 2007

Faith IS Action

I've been considering genuine faith as of late. It occurs to me that it is a much overused word. What does it really mean? One of several definitions seems particularly relevant, yet simple. It is "a trust in God and His promises ..." (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faith). That seems like a simple enough definition. It's easy to understand and all. But even definitions don't always provide comprehension.

A trust in God? What does that portend? Do I have to trust that He exists, even though I cannot see Him? Do I have to trust in His nature, His character, His personality? What about His mood? Shall I trust that too? His future? And then there are those promises. Who among us really knows all of the promises that God has made? Wouldn't that be pertinent to our ability to trust in them? So for the sake of time, let's just supposed that we do do know all of the promises that God has made.

I for one am mindful of the fact that many of God's promises are conditional promises. He says, "You do this, and I'll do that." That's a promise, to be sure. But it seems to imply that there's someone else I need to trust. Myself! Oh dear! This could be a real dilemma. So if I am to have faith in God's promises (i.e., really expect Him to deliver the goods), then it might seem that I also have to have faith in myself, or at least my ability to do my part.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm one of those people who grew up with a lot of guilt and shame. It's never been difficult for me to realize my brokenness. In fact, it's been harder for me to move on in spite of my brokenness ... to "live a forgiven life," so to speak. That may be the key to God's promises here. It may be that the simple answer is in my surrender. So when I am able to surrender to Him, I can trust in Him. Right?

Hebrews 11 is a wonderful chapter in the Bible, and reads like a "who's who of faith in God." It lists a litany of faithful servants, surrendered to God, living a forgiven life, and acting in faith. What's that you say? Acting in faith? Isn't faith just something you have to have? Well, no. Not really. Faith is probably something you can't really decide to have. Belief isn't usually something that any of us can choose or decide. Rather it just happens to us --- and then we can't not believe. But when a belief happens to people, I notice, especially in the Biblical examples of Hebrews 11, that action follows. And it's pretty noticeable action.

"Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn't deserve them!—making their way ... on the cruel edges of the world. ... God had a better plan ... that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours." - Hebrews 11:33-40 (MSG)

Wow! That's a mouthful! It seems like these great spiritual giants lept tall buildings and saved the world with one hand tied behind their backs! But wait, there's more! Their faith is incomplete without ours? Get out of here! These people got off their butts, got out of the boat, walked on water, walked through the parted seas, slayed the giants, conquered the armies, built the walls, rose from the dead, and more. Yet their faith is still not complete --- until it unites with my faith. Who can even comprehend this?

And what if my faith isn't so good? What if I don't get off my butt, get out of the boat, walk on water, walk through the parted seas, slay the giants, conquer the armies, build the walls, rise from the dead and more? What then becomes of their faith remnant? Faith is a sobering proposition indeed.

The thing that I notice is that faith gets defined as it is acted out. So it would seem that without the action, faith doesn't even exist. Perhaps Dictionary.com should modify their entry for faith, and just redefine it as "action based on trust." Wouldn't that be a more realistic definition of faith?

The point is, if my faith is to be real, my action has to be tangible. So if you'll excuse me, I have a lot to do today. In fact, I have to get off my butt, get out of the boat, walk through the parted seas, slay some giants, conquer some armies, raise some dead, build some walls and a whole lot more. It's going to be a very busy day!

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