What is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
If I had to give an example of what I thought faith was for someone who knew nothing about God, I would resort to the childlike faith we put in the one and only Santa Claus. As a young girl, I would try my best and behave all year-especially in the weeks leading up to Christmas-in hopes that my much-anticipated wish list would find its way under our family Christmas tree. I had full confidence that on Christmas Eve, Santa would make his way to my doorstep (we didn't have a chimney growing up) with a bag full of goodies because I had done my part that year. Why? Because Santa says that if you're good and you believe, he will leave presents under your tree. Now here I am as a grown adult, discovering that our faith in Christ is almost like our faith in Santa!
Like Santa's promises of a shiny new bike or a Barbie Dreamhouse on account of good behavior and belief in him, we will see God's promises to us come to pass if we not only believe and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior but if we turn from our sinful ways (bad behavior) and lead a Christ-like life (good behavior). This is done through repentance. We can find God's promises in his Word. When we know what it is that God has promised us, we are better able to have faith that He will bring His promises to pass in our lives. We may also be better able to put our trust in the One whom we cannot see but cannot live without. However, like those who do not believe in Santa, we do not get these rich rewards if we do not believe in the Lord. Verse 6 tells us this when it says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." For us to be in a relationship with God and reap His great blessings and the promise of salvation, we must first believe. Once we believe, He will step in and show us that breaking down the barrier of unbelief will be worth far more than that new bike or Barbie Dreamhouse Santa promised you.
Where do you stand in your faith today? Do you truly believe that Christ is our Savior, and that God is faithful?
** I want to encourage you to dig a little deeper into this passage, and when you have some free time read Hebrews 11 to its entirety. The author gives us so many good examples of the unwavering faith our Biblical hero's portrayed over the years. If we had faith like Daniel, Noah, Rahab (who might I add was not a believer at first), or even King David himself, can you imagine the blessings God would bestow upon us?
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