Faith, the Christian F word. Recently I've been searching for the meaning of this word 'faith', and through some sources these are some definitions I've found.
faith [feyth]
-noun
- confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability
- belief that is not base on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact
- belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty
- belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims
- a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith
- the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith
- the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He is the only one who proved his faith in recent troubles
- Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved
All of the above are somewhat correct translations of the word faith, but which one actually is the real deal? Or in other words, which one is the faith that was described and used by Jesus or Paul in the Bible? Or is it none of the above?
The answer is ....................
Faith has many dimensions. In the Bible we find out that faith is a substance of things hope for the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). We also know that without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Also in Ephesians 2:8, we understand that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.
Faith has many dimensions. In the Bible we find out that faith is a substance of things hope for the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). We also know that without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Also in Ephesians 2:8, we understand that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.
I've learned some dimensions of faith as well through teachings and preachings and also revelation from God Himself. Here are some cool explanations.
- Persistence isn't faith, neither is patience faith and neither boldness and courage faith, but faith has the elements of persistence, patience and boldness and courage.
- Faith isn't a feeling but when you have faith, it feels good.
- When we look at grace (a.k.a Jesus) in any time, whether good or bad times, Grace looks back at us and says that is faith.
- Mustard seed of faith also can move mountains.
Awesome isn't it? When we start to understand the meanings of what God's actually talking about, we have a new perspective of things (read 'All Eyes On You' post for more insight).
Here is a joke to highlight this post.
A man was drowning in the sea. He shouted and screamed with all of his heart and might, "God save me!!". A few minutes later, a boat passed by. Men threw life rescue tubes and shouted,
"Grab on, grab onto the tube!". The man answered, "It's ok. Don't worry about me. I've prayed to God and He's gonna save me. My faith is in Him!". The boat left. After some hours another boat passed by and men threw life rescue tubes to him and shouted, "Grab on, we're here to save you!". The man answered, "Don't worry about me. I've prayed to God and He's gonna save me. My faith is in Him!". The man died in the end and went to heaven. He then asked God furiously, "Why didn't You save me? Didn't You hear me?". God answered and said, "I SENT YOU 2 GIANT BOATS YOU BIG DUMMIE!".
"Grab on, grab onto the tube!". The man answered, "It's ok. Don't worry about me. I've prayed to God and He's gonna save me. My faith is in Him!". The boat left. After some hours another boat passed by and men threw life rescue tubes to him and shouted, "Grab on, we're here to save you!". The man answered, "Don't worry about me. I've prayed to God and He's gonna save me. My faith is in Him!". The man died in the end and went to heaven. He then asked God furiously, "Why didn't You save me? Didn't You hear me?". God answered and said, "I SENT YOU 2 GIANT BOATS YOU BIG DUMMIE!".
Sometimes we want God to show up in the way we want things to happen and finally miss the very thing we actually prayed for. 'It's my life, I'll do what I want' attitude or 'I don't care what people think about me, I'll do it my way' attitude will only lead us to the destruction of ourselves. Sometimes people think that faith is being stubborn, and the truth is that stubbornness is not at all a dimension of faith.
Get in focus people, look at grace (the gift of God, Jesus) and grace looks back at us and says that that is faith and He is pleased in the end because you have just used faith and faith pleases God.
'WORDS OF FAITH'
When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to those who were following Him, He said, "I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!". (Matthew 8:10 NLT)
'REVELATION'
We look at grace and grace looks back at us and says "That is faith".
Joseph Prince, author of best-selling 'Destined to Reign'
No comments:
Post a Comment