Easter Devotional - Day 43
"Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. It was faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God. … But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him." Hebrews 11:1-2, 6
In the Greek New testament, the word faith is often a verb. It is not something concrete to obtain or hold; it is something to do. It is perhaps better translated as trust. Trust makes us sure and confident. It gives us the proof we need when logic offers no proof to be seen. It is trust which allows us to live in a manner is pleasing to God—trust that God exists and rewards those who seek God.
Trust is so much more than belief. We can hold to many beliefs. We can accept beliefs that are actually contradictions of each other, even without realizing it. We can believe what is not true. We can reduce faith to the acceptance of a list of truths, much as the First Century Jews attempted to do along with their traditional interpretations of Mosaic Law. We can look upon a set of beliefs as though they were the main ingredient of faith, yet faith caries us beyond such a meager definition. It is that trust and confidence we place in the One we believe.
It was Abraham's trust in God ("Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" — Genesis 15:6) that set him apart in his day. It was the action of trusting, of placing his confidence in God, despite evidence pointing to the lunacy of such a confidence. Faith is not well grounded by the verifiable proofs sought in so many efforts at Christian apologetics. Faith is rather the confidence that in Christ Jesus the character of God is displayed as greater than what we would otherwise deem adequate. It is confidence that the purpose of life in Christ is of greater value, even if it requires suffering due to persecution or abuse at the hands of others. It is the confidence that faithfulness to God find great enough reward in God's satisfaction and care.
Faith is the conviction that there is more to this life than meets the eye. There is One to whom we owe allegiance; One who rewards us for seeking purpose and life in that allegiance to a higher ethic for living. There is no proof. There is no logical argumentation which makes faith work according to a tightly-held system of beliefs, premises, and conclusions. There is simply an inner conviction that there is greater meaning and purpose in life by seeking relationship with God, and that God honors our efforts to join in fellowship with the Almighty.
This then, is faith—trust in the goodness and willingness of God to bless us in spite of the contrary circumstances we may experience in life. It is not the insecurity inherent in assuring that others hold to the same beliefs we hold dear. It is rather the security of knowing that God is sufficient to carry us beyond the limits of our understanding.
We need not have all our theology correct, our knowledge perfected, and our system of doctrine in a neatly polished box. We need rather the relational dependence upon God that allows us to trust in the sufficiency of Go in Christ to overcome our limited understanding. We must trust beyond the bounds of our ignorance, beyond the categories of our limited knowledge.
Assess the role that trust plays in overcoming the limitations of your understanding of God.
"Lord, grow my trust in you beyond the limitations of my understanding that I might life faith."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
My latest books can be found here on amazon
In the Greek New testament, the word faith is often a verb. It is not something concrete to obtain or hold; it is something to do. It is perhaps better translated as trust. Trust makes us sure and confident. It gives us the proof we need when logic offers no proof to be seen. It is trust which allows us to live in a manner is pleasing to God—trust that God exists and rewards those who seek God.
Trust is so much more than belief. We can hold to many beliefs. We can accept beliefs that are actually contradictions of each other, even without realizing it. We can believe what is not true. We can reduce faith to the acceptance of a list of truths, much as the First Century Jews attempted to do along with their traditional interpretations of Mosaic Law. We can look upon a set of beliefs as though they were the main ingredient of faith, yet faith caries us beyond such a meager definition. It is that trust and confidence we place in the One we believe.
It was Abraham's trust in God ("Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" — Genesis 15:6) that set him apart in his day. It was the action of trusting, of placing his confidence in God, despite evidence pointing to the lunacy of such a confidence. Faith is not well grounded by the verifiable proofs sought in so many efforts at Christian apologetics. Faith is rather the confidence that in Christ Jesus the character of God is displayed as greater than what we would otherwise deem adequate. It is confidence that the purpose of life in Christ is of greater value, even if it requires suffering due to persecution or abuse at the hands of others. It is the confidence that faithfulness to God find great enough reward in God's satisfaction and care.
Faith is the conviction that there is more to this life than meets the eye. There is One to whom we owe allegiance; One who rewards us for seeking purpose and life in that allegiance to a higher ethic for living. There is no proof. There is no logical argumentation which makes faith work according to a tightly-held system of beliefs, premises, and conclusions. There is simply an inner conviction that there is greater meaning and purpose in life by seeking relationship with God, and that God honors our efforts to join in fellowship with the Almighty.
This then, is faith—trust in the goodness and willingness of God to bless us in spite of the contrary circumstances we may experience in life. It is not the insecurity inherent in assuring that others hold to the same beliefs we hold dear. It is rather the security of knowing that God is sufficient to carry us beyond the limits of our understanding.
We need not have all our theology correct, our knowledge perfected, and our system of doctrine in a neatly polished box. We need rather the relational dependence upon God that allows us to trust in the sufficiency of Go in Christ to overcome our limited understanding. We must trust beyond the bounds of our ignorance, beyond the categories of our limited knowledge.
Assess the role that trust plays in overcoming the limitations of your understanding of God.
"Lord, grow my trust in you beyond the limitations of my understanding that I might life faith."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
My latest books can be found here on amazon
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