WHAT IS FAITH? [1]

WHAT IS FAITH? [1] 

WHAT does it mean to be a person of faith? Does it mean going to church every Sunday? Does it mean praying? How about having statues of Mary and the saints? These are all certainly outward signs that a person is a believer. But faith is really something that lives in the heart and it is not easily defined. In these series of writings on faith we will look at different aspects of being a believer and try to recognize that faith means a variety of attitudes in our relationship with God. 

FAITH AS TRUST. In the face of what looks like the worst possible thing, we can still somehow trust in God. This is really the notion of faith that is contained in the children’s song: “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” The idea behind the song is that we are alone in the world. God has not created the world and then abandoned it. I believe you are all familiar with the following story entitled FOOTPRINTS. 

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to him and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that this happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. “Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed You most You would leave me.” The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” 

This story is all about “faith as trust.” Yes, our lives are ultimately in God’s hands. This may seem like a very simple and naïve faith, but it is at the core of Christian faith. We are to live with a childlike – not childish – trust in God. This does not mean that we should avoid responsibility, but rather we are to live and love as deeply as we can and put the rest in God’s hands. 

The classic example of this in the Old Testament was Abraham. He trusted in the promises of God that he would be the father of a great people in the face of all odds (Genesis 12:1-9). This attitude of trust filled the life and message of Jesus as well. He taught His followers: 

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? …… Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Matthew 6:26-27,31-33 RSV). 

Jesus did more than preach about faith as trust in God; He lived it as well. He was rejected by most of His listeners, one of His closest disciples betrayed Him, and ultimately He had to face being killed for His message. On the night before His death, we are told that He prayed intensely that another path be found for Him to take. In the end, however, He placed His trust in God even in the face of a brutal death by crucifixion. 

For Personal Reflection and/or discussion:

1.     Whom do you know that you would call a person of deep faith? Why?

2.    Whom do you trust more than anyone in life? Has there ever been a time when you had to place your trust in God? What was the situation? 

Jakarta, 26^th of June 2013 

A Christian Pilgrim