THE PROBLEM OF FAITH

     And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

                Recently the question of faith came to the forefront of my thinking. What is faith? What does it mean to have faith?

                In one generic sense, we all exercise faith every day. We get up in the morning and turn on the shower, having faith that hot water will cascade out and invigorate us. We get in our cars and drive 70 mph on the highway, having faith that the other drivers will obey the rules of the road. We get on an airplane, which will take us across the country, having faith that it will safely get us to our destination.

                In one sense, faith is trust in something. Given some basic information, we trust an object to do what it is supposed to do. We don’t have all the information about that thing, but we have enough information to trust it. We also trust people and institutions to do what they are supposed to do. We don’t know all that goes on in another person’s mind or behind the closed doors of an institution. But based on what we do know, we place our trust in them. When they fail to live up to what we expect, we lose our faith in them.

                Faith is at the very core of our spiritual experience. As Hebrews 11 states, without faith it is impossible to please God. Genuine, biblical faith is more that just believing that God exists, but also believing that God is for us, that He wants what is best for us. Biblical faith is not general or generic, it is personal and intimate. It embraces the concept that God wants to have a relationship with us.

                So how do we know that our faith is not misplaced? Faith is a tricky thing. Faith asks us to make a decision without all of the facts. Faith is not certainty, in the sense that the object of our faith is indisputable. Faith is weighing the evidence that we have and choosing to trust.

                God has revealed himself to us in three ways. He has revealed Himself through the created world. As the Psalmist says, the heavens declare the glory of God. Many people have put their faith in a god based on what they see in the created world around them. Many others have looked at the same world and have rejected God. God has revealed Himself through His revealed word. Over the centuries He has spoken to us through prophets and apostles. We have this information recorded for us in the Bible. Many people have read the Bible and placed their faith in the God of the Bible. Yet, others have rejected the Bible as a manmade myth with no credibility. Finally, God has revealed Himself through the incarnation; the person of Jesus. The life and teachings of Jesus are the most complete and convincing information we have about God. Many people have examined the life of Jesus and come to faith in God. Others have examined the life of Jesus and rejected God.

                The problem of faith is that our knowledge is limited. We have just enough information to make a choice. Based on what we know we can choose to believe in God by faith or we can choose to reject God. Faith itself is an important aspect of humanity’s free will. God could have created us in such a way that there would be no doubt about His existence. Instead, He chose to allow us to choose to believe in Him or not. I believe that He did this out of genuine love for us.

                If I placed another person in a position where they cannot choose to love me, then is their response really love? If God revealed Himself in such a way that there could be no doubt, then would our faith be faith or something else very different?

                The choices we make in life shape who we are. The things we choose to place our faith in set the course of our life. If we choose to place our faith in the absence of God, then our lives will take a certain direction. If we choose to place our faith in the reality of God, then our life will head in a very different direction.

                There are many objections that can be raised against the existence of God. But there is also much evidence for the existence of God. Lee Strobel, in his book, The Case for Faith, does a masterful job of sorting through the evidence. But in the end, each of us must choose for ourselves. We all have access to the same bank of knowledge and information. Our knowledge is finite and limited, therefore, at some point, we all must take a leap of faith. Either we will leap into the arms of God or we will leap into the darkness of the unknown. The choice is ours. That is what it means to have faith.

    Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1