Uncovering Biblical Faith

“…if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed you could say to this mounain, ‘Move!’ and it would go far away.” -Matthew 17:20*

I love the wonderful world of Disney. And I know I’m not alone in this sentiment. The made-for-tv shows and big-screen productions that come out of this dynamic entertainment company have positively impacted the lives of millions upon millions of people. The quality of the merchandise they send out is always top notch. They spread fun. They educate. They sponsor dreams. They inspire.

However, there are a couple of underlying themes they advocate that raise my hackles, set my teeth on edge. One is the “follow your heart” philosophy. As in: Just follow your heart. It will never steer you wrong.

Uh… No. This is total nonsense.

But that’s a topic for a future commentary.

The other underlying supposition Disney advocates is that believing alone brings magical results. As in: Simply believe and this or that will happen. Or everything will work out if you truly believe.

Not so.

With Eyes Wide Open

The problem with the idea of ‘just-believe-and-it-will-be-so’ is its correlation with what many would say is blind faith.

Blind faith is to possess a raw, zealous hope in or be firmly convinced of something contrary to logic or, in extreme cases—despite clear evidence supporting the opposite. An example might be seen in evolutionists who have never observed the process in action.

With eyes anything but wide open, persons holding to this theory will insist that all life began in some primordial soup carrying simple-cell organisms down to their last breath. And though evidence has demonstrated time and again that explosions immediately precede horrific messes, some insist that this beautiful, well-equipped, self-sustaining home we call Earth burst forth from the biggest, most chaotic “bang” ever—an unfathomable release of power which, again, no one alive today has witnessed due to it occurring billions upon billions of years ago.

Faith Explained

In contrast, the holy scriptures define faith as “the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen.”– Hebrews 11:1 Translation: The sun will rise again after so many hours of night. We are assured of this because of past evidence. That being the demonstration of sunrise day after day for as long as men have been on this planet. Still, we must have faith or hope for the same to happen in the morning due to the fact that we can not seen tomorrow until it happens.

True faith, in other words, is born from experience. From what has been witnessed. From fact.

Faith Attained

The question is: Can a person build a solid faith based on what someone else has witnessed? Also, what if that someone else who witnessed this life-altering truth is now dead or is in some other way unreachable? But they took the time to write about the experience.

This is the situation with the Bible. All of the stories, the characters and events are related by writers who passed away centuries ago. So, then, one has to decide whether or to put faith in the author who inspired the writers. Yet, how to put faith in someone whom you can’t physically see—not, perhaps, without being incinerated on the spot anyway.

You have to resort to other proofs, other ways of “seeing”—not an easy thing.

The amount of effort and time which must be sacrificed to “see” the Creator, the most Supreme being of all, takes intellectual, mental, and emotional endurance rivaling the kind needed to climb Mount Everest because so many things can crop up to disrupt the journey.

If not stop you in your tracks. A sudden, soul-rattling fall, for instance. Still hundreds accomplish this objective and the blessed feeling of satisfaction and joy they attain is priceless, unforgettable.

However, that leaves billions that don’t climb Everest.  In fact, billions won’t even attempt such a challenge. Billions of others may dream of doing so. Then, some major distraction enters the picture and they tell themselves “next year.”  Next year comes around and more distractions interfere. Or, worse, due to some tragic happenstance, they simply aren’t even here anymore.

But, getting back to basing one’s faith on what someone else testifies to… What if that someone isn’t dead nor unreachable but, instead, is caught red-handed (as the saying goes) exhibiting unethical behaviors or deceptive practices in some unrelated societal context? Were this the case, continuing to have faith in any spectacular experience that charlatan might swear to could amount to blindly believing.

Therein lies the rub. Too many people gain faith by vicarious means. Too many have, figuratively speaking, never actually witnessed a sunrise. Sadder yet, a few others witness faith-building events but fail to discern its significance. This is tantamount to going to watch the sunrise with a sleeping mask covering your eyes.

Faith Maintained

Conversely, those who, like myself, have received concrete assurance(s) for believing what we do find it virtually impossible to dismiss their faith. Once it takes hold, real faith rarely releases that powerful grip. Almost nothing can uproot it. Even death or the threat of it can fail in overpowering this sort of faith.

But that doesn’t keep life from trying. Stuff happens that can rock faith to the core. Tribulations mount, one on top of the other. Temptations—and not necessarily wicked ones—do their darndest to distance us from faith. The worst is when doubts creep in. Doubts lead you to question reality and your sanity because how could a sane person have been convinced of something that unexpectedly seems so devoid of truth?

It’s traumatizing—when your faith starts to unravel. And, yet, because of that same faith you’re able to reach deep and fight. (1 Timothy 6:12) Fight, not against your doubts, but to examine and resolve them.  Refocus, reflect upon the rising sun. Before you know it, you’re whole again. Not only are you able to move forward with “an assured expectation of things hope for,” but you do so with renewed power. (see James 1:3)

Rediscovering a faith which was nearly lost is definitely no easy feat. As nothing of worth is easily attained. Yet, it is entirely possible to recover from having your faith so severely tested. How? Through holy spirit. After all, faith is a manifestation of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). No wonder it is a gift Jesus told us all to pray for. And “how much more so will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those asking Him!”—Luke 11:13

So then, we should all beg Jehovah God for His holy spirit. Then we will all be blessed with faith backed up by evidence as concrete as the rising sun. Which beats simply “believing,” although wholeheartedly, any day.

sunrise to sunrise

waxing to waning moon—how

faith uproots mountains

*The Living Bible, Holman Illustrated Ed, 1973