Faith
By
Michael Lane, Executive Director, Delve Christian Ministries
Faith is what allows us to take imperfect evidence and act on it. It is the bridge that crosses the unknown and brings us to belief on the other side.
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"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. " Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Nothing is Certain
Without getting too philosophical, it's important to begin by pointing out that we cannot be certain about virtually anything we know. For one thing, all of our information comes to us through our senses and we can never been perfectly certain the information is reliable. We trust our senses because we have no choice, but if we're to be perfectly honest, there's always the possibility we've seen or heard things incorrectly.
A second reason that information can never be perfectly reliable is that most of what we know comes from second-hand knowledge. Everything I know about Venice, the moon or the history of Rome comes to me from others. I trust the information they provide, but once again, I must admit the possibility of error.
Finally, we must acknowledge that even the most basic, empirical knowledge we have can be overruled or superseded at any time by some new piece of information we could not have predicted. As certain as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow, there may be a comet poised to strike the earth tomorrow and throw it off course. As certain as I am of my own name, any number of facts from my past could come to light that alter even this basic fact.
Unless we know every fact, past present and future, everything we know is contingent and could be proven false. So why do we trust anything we know? Because we have to live; we have to do the best we can with the information we have. If we want to cross the street, we can watch the traffic all day but never reach total certainty that no cars are coming, however at some point we have to simply trust our senses and step into the street. Otherwise, we become paralyzed and can do nothing at all.
Faith Is: What Permits You to Jump From Evidence to Action
What is it which permits us to overcome our fear and step into the street? It's faith. Faith is what allows us to take imperfect evidence and act on it. It is the bridge that crosses the unknown and brings us to belief on the other side. It is trusting in the evidence we have, knowing that our gain if the evidence is right outweighs our loss if it is false.
Faith is: Trusting in What Has Proven To Be Reliable
Each and every time we make a decision, we are weighing the evidence, reaching the best conclusion we can and then acting on the faith of our conclusion. Usually, this process is completely subconscious and our mind does this in a fraction of a second without us even being aware. That is because our faith is accumulative. Once something has proven it self reliable time and time again, we require less and less faith to trust it.
Our senses are like this. For years, we have been able to trust the information we get from our eyes and our ears. When they tell us no cars are coming, we cross the road without a second thought. We have faith in our senses.
God is like this, too. Our faith in Him accumulates until we subconsciously, automatically trust Him in all things. Faith in God is not blind and not without reason. We trust in God because time and time again, He keeps His word and demonstrates that He has our best interest in mind in every situation. His love and mercy are so evident in all things that in times when we cannot specifically feel His presence, we have faith that He is still there.
Faith is: "Believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse."
Philip Yancey wrote, "What is faith, after all, but believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse?" It's a beautiful reminder that even though we sometimes have to make a decision before the pieces are yet in place, they often come together after the fact and validate our decision to have faith. I can't count the number of times I have heard Christian Missionaries say, "God wants me to go, and I don't know how I'm going to get there, but I'm packing my bags." And sure enough, God created a way and they're soon off to the mission field. For those who live by faith, it's common to hear, "Oh, I get it now!".
Faith is Not: Believing In Something Despite All Evidence to the Contrary
It is not faith when someone believes against all evidence to the contrary. That is foolishness, pride or both. When all the evidence points in one direction and we choose to go another way, it's time to re-evaluate.
People often accuse Christians of doing this - having blind faith with nothing to back it up. They may feel this way because they seek out only the contrary evidence, while Christians see the overwhelming positive case for Jesus. We must remember that someone can only base their decision on the information they have at hand. When people take the time to learn about Jesus, the evidence is extremely compelling.
How can we sure sure that we have not been foolish or naive? Be wary of anyone who discourages you from asking tough questions or seeking out more evidence. When our faith is well founded, it can only be strengthened by inquiry and investigation.
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Comments
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Thank you for your wonderful articles. It is very important for me to understand GOd's word and his will for me.
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3/5/2008 9:39:47 AM
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anonymous
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wonderful article.i believe there is something done.faith is what teaches us what God is.it is a blessing to know who the most high God is by using our faith which eventually come true
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2/16/2009 8:49:05 AM
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anonymous
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