Jesus said that with enough faith, we could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Most of us would be satisfied with far less. But faith enough for even small things is not that easy. How can we get enough faith? What is wrong? What are we missing? Are we asking for the wrong things, are we not worthy to ask, or do we not understand how faith works? We cannot answer these questions until we understand both the nature and the object of our faith. The true object of our faith is not what we initially want to believe. Dear reader, you already suspect that the answer is God, but you may be expecting something different from God than we will describe. We read in the New Testament:
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Jesus is not saying to ignore the things of the world such as what clothing we wear. What He is saying is that if we seek a relationship with Him, the things of this world will become a joy and not a burden. The richness of life and the finding of personal significance comes alive not by seeking it in the things of the world but by first seeking them in Jesus.
Our need for this faith is key to everything else we read in the Bible. Without faith, we would not have access to the Father through Jesus. Our faith is an acceptance of a relationship with God with the inherent benefits. This faith is not a substance that we can exchange for whatever we want. In that sense, it is not our achievement or our gift. It is believing enough in God to take steps in His direction. In accepting this walk with Jesus, He can fulfill our heart’s desire. In that relationship, we have the power of God’s love enabling us to be our true fulfilled self and to express goodness and helpfulness to other people. We mistakenly look too much to the world, thinking that if our problems get fixed, our heart will be satisfied, but it never is. Once we understand that Christian faith is the first step to finding the real solutions to our life, we are ready to know how to get it.
WHAT FAITH IS:
Anyone can have Christian faith, and it is not all that mysterious. When two colleagues and I were consulting in Elwood, Indiana, we went to eat at a famous potato dinner restaurant in Van Buren, Indiana, called, “The Other Place.” It was a short ride north of where we were staying near Marian, Indiana. It was a hole-in-a-wall. On an old forgotten main street, the only thing we could see was a beat-up old brick building with a nondescript door that was dark and inset from the sidewalk. A sign hung over the sidewalk. The door could have opened to anything. We would never have gone there except that we heard that it was famous. At least that was what our friends at work told us. They said that people from all over the country have come to eat there. Their testimony sparked our faith, and several other people confirmed the story. We checked it out on the internet and decided to give it a try. Our mouths were watering as we pictured that full plate of baked potato loaded with everything you could imagine. We may not have had great faith, but it was enough, and it certainly was not blind faith. Blind faith would knock on an unknown door, based on a premonition, expecting a meal. We had good reason to know what was behind the door, though we were still quite apprehensive when we saw it. Our faith of knowing and believing still was not sufficient. We had to go there, enter through that door, sit down, and eat. After that, we wanted to tell everybody about it. Those who already had a meal there were happy for us. Others may have taken our enthusiasm with a grain of salt. Some truly believed but did not go. Their belief was in vain. It profited nothing. I do not know that we convinced anyone else to go, but we returned again and again for the duration of our assignment in Indiana.
That is genuine faith. First, we hear, then we believe that it is true, then we check it out, and then we extend ourselves toward the object of our faith. It is understandable, reasonable, logical, practical and down to earth. Christian faith is really like this. Christians are inviting us to a meal that they have already enjoyed, knowing that if we go, we will return again and again.
WHAT FAITH IS NOT:
Faith is Not a Magic Spell:
We do not get things from God by saying the right words or by praying in a certain way. And, we do not need to perform a certain ritual through singing, reading the Bible, or taking certain body postures. Rituals are the natural action of a heart that will try anything. But as magic spells, they are a form of paganism.
Faith is Not an Exchange:
Faith is not a way to manipulate a mechanical god to do things for us. God is not like a vending machine; He is a person. We do not put in the right stuff, pull the right levers and get what we want. Faith on our part is not what motivates God; it is what brings us to accept Him. Since God is a person, He requires a personal relationship. In that relationship, we will receive the transforming gift of life, satisfaction, and joy. Faith is not a thing that we exchange for God’s blessing. Faith is our personal state of mind based on hearing, believing, and acting.
Faith is Not a Work:
We do not do hard work for God to get the things we desire. It is easy to think that if we do enough for God that He is either obligated to respond or will otherwise acknowledge us out of gratitude. Then if we do not get what we want, it is our fault for not doing enough. God’s way is not like our way. It is hard for us to accept the economy of God. It is not like a financial transaction. We do not pay for the grace of God in transforming our life. Life transformation is a gift. What we are required to do is to offer up our self-centeredness and allow Jesus to take it to the cross. When we cling to self and cling to our works, we destroy faith and damage ourselves.
Faith is Not Blind:
We do not respond to a notion in our mind and then take a leap into the dark, sincerely believing that it is God. Faith does not originate from an empty mind; it originates in a solid knowledge of God. We act on what we know.
Faith is Not Irrational:
One of the more insidious beliefs in Christianity is that faith is the opposite of logic and evidence. Having enough faith for a relationship is rational, and it is the opposite of works (working to impress God). Faith is logical and evidential. Relationships are built on rational conversation. The Bible teaches that, in fact, the faith that gives us assurance of things not yet seen comes from what we know about the visible world (Hebrews 11:1-3). N. T. Wright’s translation makes this clear:
“1What then is faith? It is what gives assurance to our hopes; it is what gives us conviction about things we can’t see. 2It is what the men and women of old were famous for. 3It is by faith that we understand that the worlds were formed by God’s word; in other words that the visible world was not made from visible things.”
Those who walk with Jesus do not hope in vain. Their faith is not a blind hope that comes to belief without evidence. Blind faith is not a greater faith and does not warrant a greater reward. Faith without evidence is the substance of every other belief system. Christianity supplies sufficient reason to believe in the transforming power of a relationship with Jesus. We suffer greatly without this power of love based on evidence.
Romans 1:18–23 (ESV)
“18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”
It is clear from these texts that though we cannot see God, we have sufficient evidence of His reality. Firstly, we have evidence in nature that the invisible God must exist. Secondly, we have the testimony of Christians who walk with Jesus that his transforming love is real and substantial; and thirdly, when we deny our independent self and walk with Him, we have the testimony within ourselves. Then our burning desire will be to tell others who are hungry where to find the meal.
Christian faith is our certainty that the power of God’s love through Jesus is sufficient for life, significance, and love.
There is sufficient evidence and sufficient testimony from those who know God through the indwelling person of Jesus. Take the drive and check it out. Walk through the door, perhaps with apprehension, and find a satisfying meal. Fellowship with Jesus, accepted through faith (the acceptance proves that it is enough faith), heals our soul, provides confidence, and reveals our true and wonderful self.
Contact us at Rescued For Love for answers to questions, and for support in your quest.