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What is faith?

written by Michael McBane

What is faith? You might think you know and begin to articulate your thoughts but I think most would become hesitant as they might find that they would not be so self assured of their answer. So do I have an answer. Not a complete answer but perhaps some starting points.

Faith is about the content of a relationship and then a community of relationships. It is about the knowing which builds trust and honor. It is woven with integrity because there are absolutes that emerge within true faith that challenge the abstract indulgence of sin. Faith is a confidence that grows. It is nurturing. It meets our needs before they are expressed. Faith is rest. Faith emerges and is fruitful in rest. Faith is the assurance that goes beyond the confinements of rigid thinking. It gives hope that continues. Faith exists when love is the soil of its life.

We may see faith in a particular aspect but we must then step into it. In that step it rarely feels completely as it was when we were given the invitation in our seeing. In this way it draws us towards the mystery of God. We go out not knowing fully. But we go out not towards a thing but a person, that is the frame work that must define our faith a person, Jesus Christ. So if our faith is defined outside of that context it is not faith so we must adjust our mindsets because we may be short circuiting much because we have attempted to merge far to much onto a narrow road that He alone builds before us.

Faith is courageous but it never lacks love in fact it is distinguished by love. Faith does not disregard others in its purpose.

If we allow these things I just shared to develop a context for faith then it extinguishes the presumptive ways that crush many as they place a definition upon faith to accommodate their personal will or desire. For if love is the foundation of faith then it is only relational in how it flourishes therefore it builds a highway before us and the faith of His faithfulness draws us to follow Him in all things.

We can be assured that faith is not contrary to the nature of who God is. Jesus reveals the Father to us, the Holy Spirit is not self serving. We must have a confidence that anchors us towards such truth and here in we can not be moved, even when others proclaim lofty things that do not reveal the nature of the Lord we follow Him. Love defined in Christ will set a context of who Christ is before us, and among us. We have responsibility to know the attributes of God’s love and to allow such to permeate us in thought and deed. Love will then distinguish us in our faith.

Faith then will never dismiss the cross of Christ and how that act gained for us the door to life. Thus we gain the victory of the Father as He called forth His Son from the death of such sacrifice to reveal the resurrection to us. Here we have faith fully expressed.

Perhaps you have been prayed for because you have a particular affliction, sickness or even practical need. Have you ever had some one say to you I don’t think you have enough faith to be healed or freed. As I got older I would get so twisted by such a pronouncement. First because I believe faith is a gift. And second my faith is not meant to contort my thinking in a negative context that does not extend the love of God to me. Look if I did not think God could be God I would not be asking for prayer. So I do not think faith demands that I force its existence by grunting out my belief. No faith flows in the purpose of loves extension. These types of pronouncements do not enlarge the path to God’s love. I always felt this thinking was like a sideways turd. Sorry for the tmi.

Just as we truly cannot love God unless He gives us the ability to do so. We can neither muster more faith. There are times when faith is so simple it reveals the wonder of God before us in the unexpected and out of the ordinary things. But that can be because our love is fresh for the Lord, we simply know HIm and love is unlocked and it is ours. But it is when we are confronted with the non relational aspects of the church culture that the simplicity of our expectant love is diluted.

Consider that in a very general way the church culture of the past decades has not fostered relationship among its members in fact there has been an abortive spirit among us. The hope of possibility that we often have been given in the context of relating one to another has so often been destroyed by sin. Grace can quickly evaporate among us. We find it difficult to view our relationships in the perspective of God and the eternal weave of His purpose. We disregard each other so often because of a warped context of gain in a delusional kingdom context. In this frame work we must consider that this may be a clue to the lack of growing faith in the church. Also consider that the world encourages relational community far more then the Christian community and enables its possibilities. It is far more long suffering towards one another then the exhibits we see among our members.

There are times when collective faith is increased as we gather. You can feel it at times, because the angels have gathered. The wind of the Holy Spirit is brooding and this is because the Lord desires to love us.This reveals to us how God loves us collectively but it also reveals that when the stories of Jesus are shared forgotten love is awakened. Most desire to know God and to experience His love in tangible ways.

I recently realized that faith in an Old Testament context is limited to a handful of expressions. Where in the New Testament this changes completely, in fact faith is mentioned over two hundred times. So this alone establishes a totally new framework of living. It demands that we relate to God, it does not establish a faith perspective or vantage point but a posture of faith.  Even if we accept it from a perspective point of view it is because we are seated with Him in high place beside the Father. Therefore we are postured in a particular position that establishes faith by what as been done for us. 

So faith sets in concrete the completion of who we are in Christ and what we have been given in Christ or what we have gained going from death to life. What we have gained being taken from one dark kingdom and placed into another kingdom that is not a light that dims because it is not a truth that gives to us false hope but one that is eternally complete. Here we can stand, knowing that neither death nor life can or will separate  us from the love of God now or forever.

So then we must return to the foundation of our faith daily and then allow the Lord to build our faith. We go out not knowing today. Today is what we live in, tomorrow will come.

Faith is about relationship a relationship that is about an encounter that expands beyond theology. Faith is about possibility because it redefines every thing we are and do. If it hasn’t then we are wrapped in less then faith we may believe but we have not followed. 

In a great way faith, our faith is about our communion which is with God and in that context cannot be separate from the greater community. If our faith separates us from the life of loving one another as Christ loved us we have lost the communion of our faith. We have been reduced to communicating less then love.