Diving Deeper – What Does Faith Do?

Greetings Dear Reader,

James makes it clear that faith cannot be seen.  It can only be evidenced in what we do that is an act of faith or because of our belief.   So if I wish a deeper faith I need to consider what faith does.  Since no one can see my faith I must exhibit by my actions being more faith centered.

Now I am not going to suddenly decide that I can fly by faith and then jump off of a building.  I am sure that this would work if it was what God wished me to do.  It is more that I follow Christ by less sight and more faith.  This includes not looking for signs, looking for a path, or using my own insight.  It means being in tune with Christ more deeply and following that.  So how does that happen?

I hope to get to more practical aspects of that later but I think first there is a heart matter that must be addressed.  Will I be satisfied to follow if I do not understand?  Will be willing to follow when things seem to be going wrong?  Will I still cling to faith when all around me insist that it is irrelevant? 

If God insists that we are justified to him by faith then the answer must be yes.  When my Sons were young I tried to help them understand faith through a song that seems simplistic yet is true.  I have included it at the end.

So often I want to know the path before I walk it.  That is not faith or following.  I fear that I have lost years of simple joy because of this irrational need.  The need is irrational because it is not faith.  Christ made it clear to Nicodemus that those carried by the Spirit are like that wind.  One cannot know where it comes from or where it is going.  In my heart this is thrilling and in my mind it is terrifying. 

Too often have I been dependent on knowing what is next and how things will unfold at the expense of following Christ more closely.  I think that answer to what faith does is simple.  The answer is that I need to be happy not to know where things will lead and to follow by faith.  I still need to be responsible for my obligations.  I still need to act with wisdom.  I do, however, need to realize that my desire to know and plan is much less necessary than I believe it to be. 

So as I seek a deeper faith I must release my desire to know that I am financially, socially, and practically secure.  I must not be foolish but I must move toward total dependence on Christ and following him.  That’s what faith must do.

That’s What Faith Must Be – Michael Card

To hear with my heart

To see with my soul

To be guided by a hand I cannot hold

To trust in a way that I cannot see

That's what faith must be

When the universe fell from His fingertips

He decided He wanted some fellowship

But the man and the woman would not submit

So He made a better way

When the moment was right He sent His own Son

And He opened the way so that everyone

Could have hope and believe that when time was done

He'd be able to make us one

To hear with my heart

To see with my soul

To be guided by a hand I cannot hold

To trust in a way that I cannot see

That's what faith must be

Now I understand that there is a key

It's Jesus in me, a reality

That God is in Christ and that Christ's in me

That with faith I see what is unseen

To hear with my heart

To see with my soul

To be guided by a hand I cannot hold

To trust in a way that I cannot see

That's what faith must be

That's what faith must be

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."