Is faith real & who has it? Part 1

So many ways, so many times, we hear the word faith.

- Keep the faith, man! As a greeting or encouragement in passing.

- I've got faith in you! Same as the "I think you can" encouraging people to greatness, or passing their next college exam.

- Walk by faith! In church setting, meaning trust in God, what you don't see.

- Have faith in yourself! Motivational speakers use it all the time, to encourage us to go beyond who we think we are.

So, what is this mystery? This faith thing? Does it really work or get you through? Where does it come from & how do I get it? Do I have it already? Come'on, that stuff isn't even real, get a life.

Webster's defines faith as - Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting solely and implicitly on his authority and veracity; reliance on testimony.

So, in simple terms, what does it mean to have faith?

Well, you get in your car and drive. You believe, to some extent, that you won't get in an accident, that you will get where your going. You believe that if you put gas in that car, it will start and you will be able to make it go. So, you have faith in your car.

In so many ways, in so many days, we put our trust in things we can't see. We believe that a baby bird comes from an egg. Yet, if you crack that egg to watch it, It's time for an omelet, because we all know it won't happen then.

The same with your car, if you cut the engine in half to see the miracle of how it works, you better have a good mechanic and deep pockets, or that engine isn't taking you anywhere, ever again.

So, faith is a simple trust, a belief that things, even things we can't see, will work as we are told. Everyone has it, at some level, just a little bit of faith. Faith that people will take green pieces of paper for products and services. Faith that food is edible and will nourish our bodies. Faith that companies are doing what they say they will.

Faith is real. It depends if you want to use it or not. If you drive 90 miles to work, but tell the boss, "Sorry... that'll take me two days to get there, I have a brand new car, but don't believe it works, I ride my bike because, at least I can see it working." You will probably have a serious problem, in fact, people will probably call you foolish.

The problem is, that there is an opposite to faith & trust. There are fear generators and hope thieves out there. Throughout the short history of banks and stock markets, companies have done bad things and gotten the boot, markets stabilize because we know that other companies are solid, producing.

So, now, we have the biggest fear generators of all. People are afraid, banks are afraid, money insurer's are afraid. (My personal belief is that our faith has to go deeper and depend on the one beyond and bigger than our financial systems.) Reactions to that fear have abounded. I've even seen financial guys & news anchors on TV asking where their 401k is going to.

So, they spread fear and uncertainty.

Is that what you want to spread? Is it really what you believe? I don't want to spread fear and I don't believe we have to give up. I don't believe that the American people are quitters and I don't believe we want to be a welfare nation. I drive by and stop in at quality businesses all the time that are keeping on in the midst of all the panic. Where is the press and the news on them?

So, today, lets make a pact to share a little faith, some hope, some smiles, if we share what we have, it will grow!




Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.