"Have a little faith."

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we cannot see."
- Hebrews 11:1 (The Bible)

You know, this just seems like an appropriate quote for today....

Case in point, I just watched a rather poignent Quantum Leap episode dealing with the Cuban Missle Crisis. It was a chilling glimpse of a part of our past that now resides only in the history books. Such fear of certain annihilation. Such a strong belief that there was nothing but a gruesome end in sight. What a sad reality. Fear is the opposite of faith. When fear is allowed to take control, faith disappears. Fear has an end. Faith looks beyond it.

Earlier today I read a heated debate over the validity of Creation versus Evolution. Naturally, both sides were adament in their core beliefs, yet neither cared to listen to the other. Either a loving God created the world for man -- the crown of His creation, or man evolved from unintelligent animals and slowly fought to become king of the planet. Sometimes faith can be closeminded. But sometimes it can also be a stone that topples reason.

For much of today, I've also been tossing around a few really creative project ideas that I may choose to pursue later this week. Projects that carry with them varying elements of risk. Part of me is quick to think, 'Jon, there's no promise these ideas will work out. Abandon them. Try something else.' On the other side of the coin, though, I think, 'Well, yeah, but life is based on risk. It's all about trying new things; challenging the mind; making those ideas work. How are ya going to know what works and what doesn't if you just sit there?' Faith can be challenging. But taking the hard route holds far greater rewards in the end.

See, for me, I can't imagine life without faith. My entire existance is built around it. Faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Faith in the knowledge that I am here for a reason. Faith that my goals and aspirations in life will work themselves out to the best. Faith that I will wake up to another successful day tomorrow, and know that God-willing, there'll be more days after that. Faith that there are more good people in the world than there are evil. Faith that there are things to believe and put my heart into. Faith that I have the strength to keep going.

But there's a sad side to this story. There are so many in the world who have no concept of faith. For them, life just goes on. They wake up every day to nothing. They go to sleep dreading another day of nothing. Then, someday, they just cease to be. They die. They no longer exist. And, what's worse, they don't care.

Faith is being sure of what you hope for -- whatever that may be. Faith will walk through the desert if it believes there's water on the other side. And even better, faith is being absolutely certain of what you cannot see. That desert is hot, it turns your skin to leather, it saps your strength, and it tries to kill you with every step. Yet, you'd gladly walk through those miles of dry searing sands, heck you'd run if you could, because you believe with all your heart that cool clear water awaits you at the end of your torture.

That's faith. It defies reason. It knocks you down. But it also teaches you to get up again, and walk confidently through the razer-sharp rocks of life.

Have a little faith. Take a moment, and look beyond what you see around you. Dig deeper. Hope for something. And don't ever let the fact that you can't see it stop you. Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we cannot see.

Have a blessed new week all!

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:49 PM  I   I  0 comments