August 12, 2010

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." (Hebrews 11:1-2)

I'm pretty sure that none of you reading this devotion right now are blind (if you were blind and reading this, then that would be quite a feat)... The closest to blind that any of us get is at night - in the darkness. And I don't know about you (I might just be strange), but when I'm walking around my home in the middle of the night I don't turn on a light. I know how many steps I can go before I walk into one of the walls. Even though I don't see the walls, I am certain of where they will be, as I am able to walk by faith and not by sight. Here's where the analogy falls flat on its face. I know where I am able to walk in the dark, even when I cannot see, because in the daylight I have seen. Jesus' disciple Thomas had to see to be certain too. Remember what Jesus said after Thomas saw and believed? Jesus said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)

Humans are by nature skeptical - they want proof - they want to know why. Using human standards to attempt to prove that what we hope for will come true is NOT faith. Using human standards to attempt to prove that what we have not seen actually is, or actually was, is NOT faith. The "heroes of faith" mentioned in Hebrews 11 didn't wait for evidence that doing what God wanted them to do would be best for them - they didn't wait until they could "see" the reason why - no, through faith they resolved (as NIKE would put it) to "Just Do It." Faith stands apart from human reason, apart from human logic, apart from human science (that demands evidence). In fact faith contradicts reason. According to my trusty dictionary, the definition of foolishness is" "lacking or exhibiting a lack of good sense or judgment." According to human nature, faith is foolish. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing..." (1 Corinthians 1:18a) Saving faith in Jesus Christ has nothing to do with anything we, as humans, do or think - it's not from us at all - it's simply an undeserved gift from God. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)

But, just because we are "certain of what we do not see," doesn't mean that we don't see anything. It doesn't mean that we are left in this world to stumble around blindly as I would stumble around if I was making my way in the dark, in the middle of the night, in a home that I wasn't familiar with. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit (who delivers the great gift of faith, by working to create and strengthen faith) will be with us to guide us. Jesus said, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures as his tool to work faith which causes us to be "sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) We have the Scriptures that were "written that [we] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in his name." (John 20:31) Unbelievers in this world, who are Spiritually blind, stumble around without direction in the darkness of sin, they don't see any real hope for the future. We, who have been given the gift of faith, have direction. We are "sure of what we hope for," and while we hope, we see the path that God wants us to take while in this world when we dig into His word. "[God's] word is a lamp to [our] feet and a light for [our] path." (Psalm 119:105) Apart from our own human reasoning, we have the gift of faith - the gift of being "certain of what we do not see," and yet we aren't in any way left to stumble around blindly in the dark, because we have God's Word which creates and strengthens faith, provides a guide, and sufficiently shows us no less than exactly what we need to see.