The Demands of Faith

From what it seems, faith has nothing to do with what we see. Actually, the definition of faith is that it is “the evidence of things not seen”. Evidence is always related to something we see, to a tangible proof. In court, those who are called to give testimony are people who have been eye-witnesses, who have seen something happen. John, in his first epistle, speaks about what he saw with his own eyes, “” That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;… that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you” (1 John 1:1, 3).

Conviction has certainly to do with facts that are visible and tangible, but faith is not related to concrete material things, but to abstract ones. Faith is an experience of the heart that begins with the eyes. When we see the beauties of nature, we believe that everything was created by an almighty God. When we experience the service of nature, we understand something of God” s love for us. Faith is actually trusting in that love. That trust must come from the bottom of our heart and that is only possible if we have experienced it, if that love has become in some way visible to our heart. Through faith we are not only able to see, but to perceive things.

In 1 Corinthians 2:14, we read, ” But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.” The verb ” receiveth – as used here is translated into Spanish as ” perceive” and in Greek, the original version of the sentence, it says ” dexetai” (accepts). The dictionary defines the verb ” to perceive as ” to receive and handle with, to understand or know something.” On the other hand, the noun ” perception is defined as ” an inner sensation that results from a material impression upon our senses.- In other words, what we cannot ” perceive” (understand inwardly), we cannot accept or receive. Therefore, faith is something completely subjective. We handle the truth according to how much we perceived it, understood it inwardly, experienced it, discerned it, as the verse says later on.

Faith gives us a completely different appreciation of things; it ” looks at things from a different angle. Faith, most of the times, demands that we do exactly the opposite of what our logic tells us based on the situation according to how we see it with our eyes and mind. Not in vain the wise Solomon tells us, ” Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5).

Faith demanded from Noah to invest all his possessions to build an ark when never a drop of rain had fallen upon the earth. Faith asked Abraham to abandon his motherland and to sacrifice his only son. Faith demanded from Moses to renounce the glory of a powerful nation, to leave the wealthy productive land of Egypt and go to the wilderness where nothing grows and the heat during the day and the cold at night are a threat to any wanderer. Faith required from the three princes in the Babylonian court to be tested by fire and from Daniel to end up in the lions” den. Faith demanded from the priests to enter the waters of the Jordan before the river was divided. Faith demanded from Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary and after Him many martyrs died in the Roman Coliseum, torn by lions, responding to the demands of their faith.

Yes, faith is frightfully demanding. Do we know what it will request from us tomorrow? Are we ready to respond to its demands?

All these men who responded to the hard demands of faith were weak men like you and me, so how could they submit to the demands of faith? Because, before requiring something, faith gives. It gives the impossible so as to gain our trust.

Faith had given Noah all the petitions of his heart and had preserved him from corruption in the midst of a perverted society. Faith had guided Abraham during his whole pilgrimage and had given him a son where there was no hope. Yes, faith destroys the barriers of hopelessness and despair. Faith had saved Moses from the waters when he was a baby and that faith, which he learnt from his mother, had given him a family in the wilderness and a humble character, the most precious gift that can be given to a very talented and educated man. Faith had preserved Daniel and his friends as a light, full of wisdom and understanding in a very idolatrous nation and had given the former the skill to interpret dreams. Faith had given Jesus the power to make the blind see, to heal the lepers, to resurrect the dead. Faith gives anything we may ask for according to God’s will, but when it demands something, it seems to have no mercy. Is it really so? What was Noah”‘s reward for having invested all his possessions in building the ark? He and his whole family were saved and could start a new life in a land clean from corruption. Abraham was rewarded with a revelation of the Saviour who gave His life not only for his son but for all mankind; the three young men came out of the fire untouched, as so did Daniel from the lions” den. Many people were won for God’s kingdom as a result of this manifestation of God’s power. Moses saw the Red Sea open at the movement of his hand and close over their enemies and swallow them. Faith brought Jesus out of the grave so that He could be the Saviour of the world.

Let us ask from faith today so that we may respond to her demands tomorrow! Let us allow God to work wonders in our life so that He may reveal the greatness of His power and we may not fear trial. Let us rest in peace in the arms of faith without fearing its demands; let us look at it as our best ally, as our shield that can protect us from evil and through which we can get hold of the grace by which we are saved. Yes, let us walk by faith and not by sight, no matter how many obstacles we may find on our way; our powerful God can remove them as He removed the stone of the door of Christ’s sepulchre. Faith has power even over death; faith is not passive, but dynamic: ” We walk by faith”. Let us walk hand in hand with faith and allow it to take us to wherever it may want, because its purpose is always that we reach higher grounds and its goal is the pearly doors of the New Jerusalem. Amen.