Living Faith

 

Living Faith

1 John 5.1-12

Do we really understand the area we about to dip out toes into this morning? Faith is something we can be certain about. We cannot, however, see it. It is tangible in that we reach out to make contact with God. Yet, we can't see God and more than we can actually see faith. Merriam-Webster is going to help us make sense of it all as we take a look at the word. Maybe we can understand better what we are living into as we become people who are following Jesus.

I Don't Believe God Exists

It started simply enough. "I don't believe God exists" Mike the barber said in a matter of fact way. Bill went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation, telling stories as usual. They talked about politics and the elections, the state of the economy, their families and kids.

"That's Right, God Doesn't Exist."

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, Mike said: 'I don't believe that God exists.'

"Why do you say that?" asked Bill.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me Bill, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

Bill thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. Mike finished his barbering job and Bill left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

Bill  turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to Mike, the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!"  Bill exclaimed. "'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."

"Exactly!' Bill affirmed. And, with a wink and a nod he left Mike to contemplate the deeper implications of their conversation.

 What is faith? Maybe we need some clarity as to what we are talking about. Merriam-Webster usually has some good idea to help clear up our muddy water.

We cannot see it. But, it is possessive. My Faith. I can hang on to it. Yet, sometimes we lose it. When lose something we cannot see or touch it can be that much harder to get a hold of it again. But, knowing it is ours can help us in that area. Knowing that faith something we use or put into action can help us understand the possession of it as well.

Thinking about faith as an action word is probably not something that many of us have contemplated. We know what we believe. Some of us can maybe articulate why we believe what we do. Many of us have strong opinions about issues or politics or things going on in our world. How about your faith? Can you show what you believe in? Can you speak to what you trust? Better yet, can you speak to what you put your belief and trust in?

Note that transitive nature in the word. Faith can be spread around. If you have faith and the person at the other end of the pew has faith, how can you affect that nature of those around you with your faith? How can you put that faith into action so others can find faith as well?

Do You Carry Your Umbrella?

Would you carry your umbrella in a drought?  As a drought continued for what seemed an eternity, a small community of farmers was in a quandary as to what to do. Rain was important to keep their crops healthy and sustain the townspeople's way of life.  As the problem became more acute, a local pastor called a prayer meeting to ask for rain.

Many people arrived at the church to pray for the needed rain. The pastor greeted most of them as they filed in. As he walked to the front of the church to officially begin the meeting he noticed most people were chatting across the aisles and socializing with friends.

When he reached the front his thoughts were on quieting the attendees and starting the meeting.

His eyes scanned the crowd as he asked for quiet. He noticed an eleven year-old girl sitting quietly in the front row. Her face was beaming with excitement. Next to her, open and ready for use, was a very colorful and extremely large umbrella, much bigger than her in fact.

The little girl's beauty and innocence made the pastor smile as he realized how much faith she possessed. No one else in the congregation had brought an umbrella.

All came to pray for rain. But the little girl had come expecting God to answer.

Sometimes it's helpful to hear what other words have to say. That synonym relationship between words helps us in our understanding. Seeing these four words above may cause us to contemplate how exactly we are using our faith and what we are doing with it. I hope you'll take the time to look up each word in the chart above and see what they mean. Each word can cause us to ask some questions about our faith. 

The third line of definition for the word belief poses some interesting thought. 

That's right where John has his audience in this passage today. He and the other disciples have first hand evidence. They were there. The fact of the matter is anyone who has asked Jesus to come into their heart and life has first hand evidence. At some point there needed to be a place and time where the conviction of our sins came down on our shoulders and we knew we needed forgiveness above all else. 

Our faith is directly connected to that forgiveness. Looking back up to the fragment on the word faith, we see the second line broken into an a and b part. 

For John and the others, there was proof. They saw it with their own eyes. They touched it with their own hands. The proof we have to offer our audiences two thousand years later has to do with things they cannot see. Forgiveness cannot be seen. Until we give it to someone who desperately needs it. Love isn't a tangible item until someone knows that there is person in their world who loves them. This is how we make out faith an action word. We put it into ways of sharing our life with other people. 

The last two words tie into this Sunday in a special way. 

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 One More Step

Its the first Sunday of the month here. It's a communion Sunday.
We approach the table with faith. For some, maybe its just a ritual. We always this. We take some bread. We drink a small cup. And we go sit down. Maybe, for some, it means a bit more. It's a moment to remember. That's what Jesus wanted it to be. "Do this in remembrance of me." It is in the remembering that our faith is made sturdy. If we plant some seeds and then never tend to those early drops in the soils of our hearts, how will they grow? Remembering is how we tend the soil. Cultivating it. Sometime we lose our faith when the soil is left alone. The weeds grow up. They choke the life right out of everything around it. We need to take the time to work the soil. Get our hands right down in their and help those seeds to grow. Take care of it. Watering it. Fertilizing it. Making sure it stays alive. Not just assuming it will grow. But, making sure that it does. 

Victory is the sure reward.