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One part of my relationship with God I always seem to gravitate back to is just what is faith? It is one of the central elements of Jesus’ interaction with the people he meets. Someone is healed and Jesus tells them "your faith has made you whole." the centurion acknowledges Jesus' authority to heal his servant from a distance and Jesus replies "Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith." Matthew 8:10 Yet when I think of my own faith all I can do is wonder. Jesus himself even echo's my doubt in one of his parable when he asks; "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8 How can I tell if my faith is real? Christian's are not the only one who have questions about faith. Many people in our culture feel that a Christian's faith is just a kind of denial undertaken by weak people who are not able to face the harsh reality of the world in which we live. The faith to which Jesus calls us has very little to do with this kind of denial in my experience. Our doubt is most often created by our fear, not our lack of faith. The problem is that our fear, be it a fear of failure or a fear of rejection can paralyze us and keep us from doing anything. For faith to make a tangible difference in our lives we need to act in accordance with our faith. Probably the best example of this is the story of a man who brought his troubled son to Jesus for healing. "Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so." Jesus' response is right to the point and shows his frustration as well; "You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me." My question here is what difference is there between Jesus and his disciples in the matter of healing? The disciples have already proved themselves when they went out into the towns and villages of Galilee. The man has doubts, not just about the disciples but about Jesus as well. |
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This is made evident in the dialogue; "If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us." 23 Jesus said to him, "If you are able!-- All things can be done for the one who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, "I believe; help my unbelief!" Still frustrated Jesus heals the man's son. The important thing to understand here is that faith focuses on Jesus love and grace instead of our own doubts. When we understand that we can be freed from our paralysis and act on our faith for faith can only become a reality if we act on it. If the man truly lacked faith he would have never left home. His doubts are clearly evident as he cries out; I believe Help my unbelief... but the reality of his faith is not in his fear or doubt but in his action for in bringing his Son to Jesus he has performed a true act of faith. This is an important point for every Christian to
understand. Faith only becomes a part of the reality of our lives
when we act on it. Merely believing is not faith at all. James,
thought to be Jesus' brother makes this rather clear. Faith by
itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, "You
have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from
your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believer
that God is one; you do well. Even the demon's believe-- and shudder.
Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart
from works is barren? James 2:17-20 Pastor Jim Bliss | ||
