And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (Hebrews 11:32-34, NKJV).
To quote Inigo Montoya, "I don't think that word means what you think it means."
What can faith do? Subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, make the weak strong, engender valiance, cause armies to run away in defeat, toss mountains into the sea, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, bring understanding, and raise the dead - just to name a few.
More than anything else, faith is that "mythical" engine that drives the real workings of the universe, or brings it to a screeching halt. By its very nature, faith flies in the face of human pride.
In a way, it's like electricity. We can see what it does, but don't understand what it is or how it works in and of itself. Unlike electricity there is no way to generate faith. You can't grit your teeth and do another faith rep on the spiritual exercise machine.
It is a gift made necessary by our essential blindness and insensibility, and given to us by a Being who IS love and has mercy. It can increase only through knowledge of Who is its source, and that is not so much an increase or growth, as it is a natural outcome of knowing God - like opening your eyes wider to see more light. Neither the light nor your eyes have changed, but the amount of what you see has burgeoned exponentially.
It is a non-physical, non-energy, unquantifiable something that holds everything together or causes everything to fly apart. It is more mysterious than the most enigmatic cosmic particle, and it is that sole thing that determines whether you live or die for all eternity.
It is uniquely attributable to personhood. Doorknobs and broomsticks cannot have faith. Nor can amoebas or artichokes. Dogs don't need faith, nor do fish or birds or any members of the animal kingdom because they themselves are not fallen, but rather follow the lead of humanity who was made to have dominion over them. Where mankind goes, so goes the rest of Creation.
Without faith all of these statements about faith are incomprehensible - so much pie in the sky by and by, or rubbish, or wishful thinking. That is precisely what it was meant to be. Faith, like color, can only be understood by experiencing it. In the real Reality, faith is the true test of the measure of a man, woman or child. This is more than a little ironic because, in its essential quality, faith is invisible and unmeasurable.
Yet it is through faith that the cry of the human heart for perfection, justice and eternality is answered. It is only through faith that life has meaning, and death is seen as the blasphemous and barbarous result of sin. It is only through faith that sense can be made of tragedy and unfairness and suffering. Otherwise, and without faith, cruel random chance prevails and reigns over all existence.
Without that gift of faith, and with the false understanding that there is no God, inconsolable despair is the logical result, and it would be better never to have been born. Voluntary reentry into the nothingness of nonexistence would be the sane option of choice, and it is a wonder in this faithless world that suicide is not the norm, rather than the exception.
But is it true that faithlessness abounds on this planet? Yes, faith in God is lacking, and will decrease as history winds down, but faith itself? In fact, human existence is permeated by faith. It is as natural as breathing. Even the most rabid atheist in the West stops at a red light and has faith that when it turns green the opposing flow of traffic will take its turn at hitting the brake.
Are there violations of this kind of natural faith? Of course, just as breathing in toxic gas won't keep you alive, but that does not undermine the fact that everyday life requires faith for a person to even rise up out of bed in the morning.
Imagine just for a second how it would be like if you doubted everything you believed to be true about existence? Will gravity work this time? Will that floor hold your weight? Are you actually awake, or just dreaming? Do you, in fact, exist?
The bottom line is that people who think that a life of faith is infantile rubbish have no objection to faith itself; their lives are unavoidably wrapped in it. Their objection is to faith in God, and even more specifically, faith in Christ.
How intolerant and narrow-minded. Faith in other drivers or the laws of physics is fine and acceptable, but faith in God and His laws, which include, but surely transcend, the merely physical, is not?
We may not understand the essence of faith, exactly what it is in itself and how it "works", but we can know that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We can know what it has done and will do.
And most importantly, we can know its true Source.
Suspend whatever disbelief you have in God for just an instant and consider this: if He exists and has revealed Himself in the Bible - a premise that cannot be disproven by any laws of logic - then retaining that disbelief in Him is the single most insane course of action that can be undertaken.
Allowing the door to open just enough for even a mustard seed's worth of faith in Him to enter into your life risks nothing except the real possibility that as you learn more of Him, and His Son, that door will be flung off its hinges and you will be transformed forever.
Not opening the door at all is the essence of narrow-mindedness, bigotry, self-absorption and self-satisfaction.
That is why we are told He stands at the door and knocks. He doesn't barge through it. That is not His way. He leaves it up to you, after giving you all the necessary prerequisites to make the choice.
There is a reason that He has made known this fact: without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
And the reason is His mercy. He wants you to live and has done everything necessary, including suffering the penalty of your sin on the Cross, so that you can have life through faith in Him.
He has done everything except cram it done your throat.
The next step is up to you.
