Rampant Faith

What is faith?

The dictionary says that faith is belief not based on proof.

I don’t wholly accept that definition.  When I accepted Christ 40 years ago, there was proof in my life.  I was a drug addict and alcoholic who was living with a married woman.  After getting her pregnant, I heard the words “leave and don’t look back.”  These words were in my head but I didn’t hear them through my ears.  It was the first time I ever heard God speak to me.

I left as instructed.  It was one of the most difficult decisions of my life.  But it was my own fault.  I had become involved in things I should not have.  The responsibility for the pain of those years was all mine and my decisions up until that point left me with regrets that have been with me since.

God Has Revealed Himself

One year after my departure, I found myself going to church and helping in the children’s ministry.  To this day, I can still remember walking out of the building, taking the sidewalk back to the front of the church.  It was a warm and sunny morning that has been etched into my mind.  I was a new and different person.

Some may challenge me that I left my pregnant girlfriend.  They may say what kind of man would leave his pregnant girlfriend?  And what kind of god would tell a man to leave his pregnant girlfriend?

Good questions, but they are based on the false assumption that the relationship with my girlfriend was a right relationship.  It was not.  It was a wrong relationship that could not and would not be fixed no matter how long I stayed.  In fact, by staying I would have made matters worse.

These things may not be proof enough for you because they happened in my life.  But they are proof enough for me.  Repeatedly God has revealed Himself to me over the years, so that now, I am fully convinced He is my Lord and Savior and when this life is over, I will enter heaven with Him.

Faith is Simply Believing

Do you know that we all have faith?  We all believe.  We just don’t all believe in the same things.  Every, single, person, has faith.  It is impossible to live without faith.

 Using the dictionary’s definition, faith is simply believing in things we may not readily see.  I would use the sun as an example, but there are some who would say, “I can see the sun and its effects on me!”  So, let’s use gravity instead.

We cannot see gravity but we do see its effects on us and the world around us.  Without gravity, life would be much different.  I have heard it said that gravity is exactly what it should be.  A little less and everything would fly apart.  A little more and everything would be crushed.  If true, that would indicate intelligent design on a level we are not capable of achieving.

You Have Faith

If you stood outside on a summer day and closed your eyes, you would probably feel the sun on your skin and be grateful, knowing where the warmth was coming from.  Gravity and its effect are one of those things we never consider.  We do not walk around saying, “I am glad for gravity!”  But it is there and we all believe in it.

And what about wind?  You can see its effects on the world around you, but you cannot actually see the wind.  And it is certain that you don’t know where it comes from and where it is going.  But you believe in it.  You have faith that wind exists.

When you get in a car, you have faith you will arrive at your destination safely.

The Objects of Your Faith

How about all the “teachers” that are heaped up in our life?  They are everywhere.  It seems that everyone wants to be first in our lives by convincing us they know the truth.  It is faith in their “truth” that allows them into our lives.

Every day when you get out of bed, you go about your business trusting that today will be much like yesterday.  It is a fact of life that we do not question.  That trust is rampant faith.

Of all the things you believe, is Jesus Christ and His suffering on the cross one of them?  If not, why?

We have been lulled to sleep by the constant droning of this life.  The objects of your faith have caused you to stop looking for God and asking if He is real.

The Light of This Life

It is time to start asking questions.

Read some Christian books.  Here are three books that have spoken to me: “My Glimpse of Eternity” by Betty Malz, “Heaven is Real” by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, and “90 Minutes in Heaven” by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey.  Each one details the events of exposure to the next life and the world we don’t see.

Don’t stop there.

There is something called end of life experiences or E.L.E.  It can also be called deathbed phenomena.  These both refer to those for whom death is imminent.  Often, the dying will see people who have already died.  They may see angels or even God Himself.  I have family who have died and experienced this before passing.  I also have friends who have reported similar events with their own family who have either died or were dying.

These experiences are too coherent across the spectrum of people to be considered hallucinations.  If someone tries to convince you they are hallucinations that is only because their worldly mind does not want to accept the idea that there is a world we cannot see yet.  It is a world that will not be visible until the light of this life goes out.

A Singular Journey

There is proof if you are willing to believe.  God will reveal Himself to you if you sincerely desire to find Him and know Him.  What do you have to lose?  Surely you have enough time to ask God if He is real and to help you see Him. 

I think the biggest obstacle of seeking Jesus Christ is the notion that the idea of God goes against everything we know and have been taught.  And that is the problem.  We have learned to disbelieve that God even exists by what we have been taught.

In the beginning, everyone knew God.  Time and sin have separated us from physically seeing Him in this life, but He has left us testimonies that He exists.  Christmas and Easter are two very prominent testimonies.  Celebrating the birth and death of Jesus Christ should be enough that He is alive and loves us.

As you grow in the knowledge of Him, you will begin to understand the depth of His love for you.  It is a journey that beckons you down a path that will make you wonder, why did it take so long to find?

Our journey from this life to the next is a singular journey.  No one will be with us.  We will be alone with the choice we have made in this life when we enter the next life.  I strongly encourage you to seek Jesus Christ while He may be found.  It will be the best decision of your life.