With so much controversy and confusion around the subject, and this word faith having so many different meanings for so many different people, I thought I’d just touch briefly on what faith is to me.
I am more than happy to discuss any questions, as I know I have not covered everything in these simple statements. But the point of this is to give people a basic understanding of where I’m coming from when I talk about Jesus or other aspects of my faith.
I have faith in a saviour, Jesus Christ.
This faith leads me to relationship, not religion. That’s what it all boils down to – Jesus spent three+ years building a relationship with His disciples, not building a religion.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. A biblical Greek professor of mine was fond of saying that Jesus could only be one of three things, but never just a “good man”. The three things? Either He was crazy, He was lying, or He was and is exactly who He said He is: the Son of God.
I believe in a Triune God; God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
My Jesus freely offers love, grace, forgiveness, loving kindness and many other gifts, abundantly. This is not something we have earned or ever could. This is a gift.
There is no condemnation, only conviction. It is this conviction that teaches us and guides us as we become what we were intended to become.
This faith is a journey, not an event. Life-changing faith does not just happen overnight. It happens with each morning, each trial and error, each triumph and joy, each stumble and each leap. It happens with each of us in our own time.
I am not an unintelligent person – I don’t believe everything I read or see, I weigh things out with logic and wisdom and knowledge, I have studied and observed many things for myself. But there is no other way to explain my many experiences with my Lord. That shiver as I feel the truth when it is spoken aloud, that joy that comes in the morning after a long trial is finally over, the love that fills my heart when I should have nothing left to give.
Faith looks differently for different people. Faith stretches us. Faith pulls us out of our comfort zones. Sometimes, we can only handle a little bit of faith at a time. Other times, we feel we’re bursting with faith and can handle any obstacle that comes our way. {Sometimes my cup is overfilled, sometimes I’m too afraid that I am going to spill…}
One last thing: I believe faith calls us to act out the example of Christ in our lives daily. You probably won’t see me on a street corner handing out tracts or even posting “chain” status updates on facebook declaring my faith for the world to see in bold and unhelpful statements. But, I will be there helping those that I am able to help, showing love in the dark places and bringing the light with me where ever I go. I won’t be flawless, or perfect, or without mistakes, but I will do my best. And you might never know it was me.
