Misplaced Faith

Christian, where does your faith lie?

I was having supper with a pastor. And as is sometimes the case when believers intermingle, testimonies and past stories abounded. Nothing was particularly interesting about this pastor's back story. He was raised in a Christian home by Godly parents. He thought himself rebellious as a youth, but his stories indicated he was not. He seemed a nice man to shepherd the flock. As his story progressed, he discussed how his uncle and aunt were pivotal influences for his Christian walk and the rudder that steered him to Bible school. A nice story (perhaps a little boring), but good enough to share between chews. But then he said something startling. Amongst his fawning over his godly uncle and aunt, he said they were so important to his decision to believe in Jesus, that he was unsure if could believe if they renounced their faith.

What?

How could this be? This man was raised in a good Christian home, had gone to seminary and was leading a local congregation, and he had a faulty foundation for his faith. His eternal salvation was built on the perceived holiness of a fallible man and woman: Instead of the infallible Lord Jesus Christ. The foundations of his aunt and uncle’s faith should have been his foundation, not the aunt and uncle themselves. Even if his uncle and aunt remain faithful to the grave, this foundation would be weak when tested by trial. Your faith should not be contingent on the faith of another.

I am troubled by this dynamic, and man’s capacity to follow man, and not God. I understand the close bond that can form when disciplining and that is healthy. But I am always terrified by the prospect that someone’s faith would be contingent on me (not my faith, but me personally). What a terrible burden for the fallible to carry. In a post about role modelling, I discussed how important it is to have Godly examples to shape Godly character. Yet this is not what I’m referring to here. Your Christian walk should be carried on legs marbled by Biblical truth and a sound relationship with God. You shouldn’t be piggy-backing someone else’s faith. If they fall, you fall.

Faith Bubble - An Unhealthy Substitute for Foundational Faith

Faith is a wondrous thing.  Some people are gifted with it and have a propensity to move mountains. Others are not, and struggle to move the covers off themselves so they can get out of bed.  My mother is a creature of pure faith.  She doesn’t know much about science and isn’t particularly well read historically.  Yet when the antagonists of God berate her, their faulty conjectures strike her as hollow plenitudes: They have no more substance than the breath that carries them.  She isn’t trained in a particular academic field and as such, capable of correcting their folly by referencing publications and learned men.  No, that is not within her scope.  But what she does have is an innate God given PhD In faith; Such that, their attempts to rattle her are futile.  And her exemplified relationship with God rattles them.

We can’t all have my mother’s faith (or a gifting of faith).  And neither do we need it.  Paul instructs us that that which we believe is rational, and he is correct.  What he means is, we can see and affirm many things about God and Christianity without faith - and that this in turn, builds our personal faith. God is evident in His creation, and this insight is unmistakable to many by simple observation, and to others by study.  This does not negate faith.  There are areas where faith is required.  This is God’s intent and prerogative.  Many wonder why He wouldn’t simply reveal Himself to the degree that we could not deny Him.  How could you not believe in Him if He shook the earth from a pillar of flame and commanded us to listen?  Or, wouldn’t it be easier to evangelize the world if Noah’s ark was perched in plain site, and all we had to do was point at it?