What is Faith?

Growing up, there was a song sung by the Cathedral quartet that went like this: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair.  Sometimes persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”  I can hear them in my head as I write the words.  I loved the message and the way the music so beautifully mixed with the mood of the meaning.  The song is, of course, directly taken from II Corinthians chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. 

               

                Sometimes, this is a theological confession (something I say I believe), but not necessarily a theological function (something I live out of).  Sometimes, it is something to grasp by faith when it’s not something I can account for by sight.  At those times, it is something that sustains me through difficult circumstances.  Scripture doesn’t say, “The just shall live by their sight,” rather, “The just shall live by their faith.” 

                This brings to mind another song, this one by Michael Card.  Though not all the theology of the song is perfect, the chorus goes like this: “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.”  This may sound like “blind faith” to some, but as Christians, we know this faith is not blind; it is based on something.  2 Peter 1:2-12 tells us, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.  Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  Our faith is based on God’s “exceedingly great and precious promises.”  The faith I speak of isn’t faith in just anything, it is faith in God and the great and precious promises He gives us through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.  I can have faith in anything – that doesn’t mean my anything of choice is faithful.  But God is. 

                Faith is also more than mere belief or assent.  Faith does something – it acts – it becomes – it grows.  Biblical faith changes me.  Check out 2 Peter again.  Faith leads to goodness, leads to knowledge, leads to self-control, leads to perseverance, leads to godliness (Christ-likeness), leads to brotherly kindness, leads to love.  Isn’t it amazing how scripture relates to itself?  That makes me think of another scripture; this one in I Corinthians 13:1 - 7.  Paul tells the believers at Corinth, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."  Faith that doesn’t grow into these things is seriously lacking; in fact, it is no faith at all.  That’s pretty harsh, but that’s what it says. 

                So faith says, “I don’t always feel great; I don’t always get it; but I believe in the promises of God (though I can’t always see their fulfillment), and because I believe, I can entrust myself to him and let His love flow through me to others.”

                Peter had this experience himself in the New Testament.  We find recorded for us in the Book of John chapter 6 a very famous story.  Jesus is teaching the multitudes (at least 5,000 people) and they get hungry.  Jesus asks his disciples, “What should we do?  The people are hungry.  Where can we go to buy bread?”  Phillip answered, “Lord, 200 denarii won’t buy enough bread to give all these people even a little bit.”  Meanwhile, a young boy had approached Andrew, Peter’s brother, and had offered five barley loaves and two small fish to contribute to the meal.  A lot of people look at this story to praise the young boy, but this story isn’t about him; it’s about Jesus.  Jesus took those 5 small loaves and the 2 fish and miraculously not only fed 5,000 people, but also collected 12 baskets of leftovers!

                The next day, the people followed Jesus to another place and asked him, “How did you get here?”  (They had tried to capture him to make him king, but he had escaped).  Jesus’ answer seems unexpected in the text.  “Surely, I tell you, you seek Me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled…”

                Long story short, Jesus was saying to them, “You want physical bread.  But the sign I showed you was to point out that I am the spiritual bread from Heaven that will give you eternal life.”

                This didn’t satisfy the crowd.  They tried reason, manipulation, trickery, shame... all kinds of things to get Jesus to give them bread like He had the day before.” 

                Finally, Jesus has to spell it out for them. “Don’t you get it? I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died.  I am the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

                They still didn’t get it.  They thought he meant he was literally going to give them his physical flesh to eat.  Jesus said, using very strong metaphorical language, “I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will live because of me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven – not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will life forever.”

                Wow.  Yeah, that’s what they thought, too.  “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

                Jesus answered, “Does this offend you?” And the Bible tells us that from this time forward, many people went back and stopped following him any longer.

                Jesus looked over at his 12 apostles and asked them, “Are you going to go away as well?”

                Peter answered him…good ol’ Peter…”Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

                Sometimes life gets rough.  Really rough.  Sometimes we want things from God.  Yes, for many people I live around, they want bread.  Real, actual bread.  They need it.  They’re hungry.  Their families are hungry.  God provides, but not always in the same way for everyone, and many people starve to death every day.  We look at that and say, “God didn’t provide.”  For some of us, things aren’t quite that drastic.  We have food enough – more than enough – to live on.  But the bread we want is something different.  Maybe it’s a better marriage.  Maybe it’s a better job.  Maybe it’s a specific answer to prayer.  Maybe it’s to feel significant or loved.  Maybe it’s children.  Maybe it’s for a weekly paycheck to not be cut.  Maybe it’s to be understood or heard.  Maybe it’s to see growth in ministry or effectiveness in preaching.  Maybe it’s money enough to pay for your daughter’s dream college or money to pay for boarding school for your child who lives a very isolated life on the mission field.  Maybe it’s to see results…something, anything…in your work for the Kingdom of God. 

                Sometimes, God gives us these things.  Sometimes He says, “My gifts to you are to help you see the gift I give you of Myself.”  Sometimes He says, “Am I enough? What if I don’t give you these other things?  What if I don’t give you this ‘bread’ you’re asking for? Will you leave me, too?”

                I wonder what our response will be.  Who are we in this story?  The point really isn’t to be the boy – though it makes a great song.  The point is…am I the multitude?  Or am I Peter?  Will I walk away? Or will I confess with Peter, “Lord, where else would I go?  You’re the one with the words of Life.”

                This is the heart of faith.  Believing this deep down helps me to love others with the love of Christ even when things don’t make sense.  It helps me to trust God’s heart for me.  It helps me to walk in obedience in the face of hardship.  It helps me have a heart of thankfulness – because it lives in the light of His most precious gift to me; Himself. 

                When you eat bread, you don’t eat the whole loaf; you break it.  When you drink from the fruit of the vine, you’re drinking fruit that has been crushed.  Jesus was broken and crushed because he loved us.  This was the only way to give us eternal life – and Jesus was the only sacrifice sufficient. 

                What have we mistakenly, wrongly, foolishly replaced Him with? 

                Why do we spend our money and energy on that which is not food – on that which is not drink – on that which will pass through our bodies or our hands only to be forgotten and leave us wanting more?  This is such a huge theme through-out scripture.  We strive for things, we fight for things, we war for things – in our homes, our marriages, our workplaces, in our mission organizations, in our churches, in our tribes, in our countries…in our world.  Jesus says, “No, I am the bread.  I will satisfy you – if you’re really looking for Me and not just what you think you will get from me.”

                “Am I enough?  Do you get what I am for you?  I am your life – eternal life.  Or will you leave me, too?”

                               

                What is your response to Him today?  What is mine... LORD, WHERE ELSE WOULD I GO? YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE…!