Faith is a choice
I love this quote about faith that I recently heard: “Faith is seeing light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness” - Barbara Johnson. I’m really good at navigating the furniture in the dark bedroom as I make my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, so this quote speaks to me. I never really thought about how confidently I walk across the dark room without fear of stumbling on any unforeseen object along the way. Boy, if I could have that kind of faith…being assured and confident in my heart of what I hope for and believe. (Hebrews 11:1)
When it comes down to it, everyone has faith in something. We have faith that the sun will come up every morning, that somehow when we get on a plane it will take us safely to our destination, and even that the Dallas Cowboys will one day win another Superbowl! The question needs to be, what are we placing our faith in?
“Religion”, or having a belief in God, has become fashionably offensive in some ways and I admit, as humans, we have really messed it up, we tend to do that. But, when we read the bible (not fake news) we find that the whole story, from the beginning to end, is actually not a rule book about how to be good enough to get to heaven, but rather a love letter from God. Through His inspired word, He shares His character and how much He loves us…His creation.
Many religions seek approval from their gods through sacrifice and trying to live a perfect life in hopes of possible redemption at some point. As a Christian, I find so much comfort in the fact that even though I know I can never be good enough to fulfill that lofty requirement, God doesn’t expect me to on my own. The bible is full of examples displaying God’s love for us and reveals that He actually seeks us first, regardless of how flawed we are. That’s backwards, right!? Just like a loving father, through the redemptive grace of Jesus, God sees us as flawless and waits patiently for our love in return.
God pursues everyone and provides a way for us to have a relationship with Him through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. There is nothing we have to do to earn His love, and there’s nothing we can do to lose it when we believe this to be true. God even infuses His spirit (the Holy Spirit) in us that gradually changes the way we think and act and helps us understand it all.
Many of us “know” this (head knowledge) to be true, as a Sunday school answer, but there comes a time when we experience an event or circumstances that cause us to look at this a little deeper and maybe even question if it’s indeed true. That happened to me within the last year and what I’ve come to realize is that just as we can have “unconditional love”, no matter what someone does or how they treat us, we can CHOOSE to have “unconditional faith”, no matter our circumstances. It occurred to me that we have a choice to believe in God’s unconditional love and good intentions for us, or question it when things get a little sideways. But, what brought me comfort was the realization that if I choose to have faith, that faith is unconditional. Just like unconditional love, no matter the circumstances, my faith can also be unconditional. Even when I have fear, or doubt, I can still stand on the fact that I believe that God is in control and works everything out for my good and His glory according to His plan. (which is to ultimately reconcile us to Him in paradise / heaven). The bible tells us that we will have trouble and our trials should be counted as joy because they make us stronger in the character traits needed for our residency in heaven.
So, I’m trying my best to hold onto this type of unconditional faith just as I walk with confidence in the dark room on my way to the bathroom! Even if I bump into the dresser and get bruised along the way, I’ll get there and experience ultimate relief!
