Sunday, March 30, 2008

Faith and Belief

According to Webster's Dictionary, faith is a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Whereas belief is a state of habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing. Belief may or may not imply certitude in the believer.

A couple of weeks ago I met a gentleman online who shared his Christian faith. After several sporadic conversations, we exchanged phone numbers. Recently he talked about his desire to marry--no, he wasn't talking about me--and his belief in love. He is twice divorced but still believes the right woman is out there for him. In fact, he is so convinced his wife is waiting that he has already purchased an expensive ring to present to her when he finds her. Now, that's some real faith.

Nonetheless, I was encouraged to hear that his faith is driven by his belief in God. You see, he hasn't always been a believer. There were times when he tried to chart his own course and make things happen, but the results were unkind. There's nothing nice about having two failed marriages, being a part-time dad, filing bankruptcy, and encountering health issues. According to him, all of these things happened because he didn't make Christ the center of his life. His belief was only in himself and not in a higher power.

Now with new priorities and Christ firmly centered in his life, he's experiencing remarkable changes. His physical and financial health has rebounded and he now sees his children more often. Even though he has no proof that a wife awaits him, he has all the confidence in the world that he will marry soon.

"As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit." ~Emmanuel~

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I began to put God at the centre of my life, my life changed too - dramatically. A bit like Scrooge at end of Christmas Carol (this might seem like a bit of a twee comparison but it isn't to me: in fact Scrooge jumping up and down with joy is an understatment!).
Sadly we reflect the capricious, cruel and mean-spirited nature of man (that we can often be) onto God. God is 100% Love, Truth, Beauty, Peace and the rest. Also, we reflect the gloomy, cob-webbed Victorian Church atmosphere onto religion (at least here in the UK), or happy-clappy, or puritan, or fundamentalist, or saccharine etc ..
Remember God is as much a mystery as revelation (in, particular, in the human form of Christ). And He is human (human side of Christ but WITHOUT sin, of course) as well as divine / spiritual, of course.
'Magic' might sound twee, but religion for me is magic. It is more magical than any place I have seen, art work I have experienced, person I have been with (even though nature, art and people are fantastic). God is ultimately, Love, Peace and Beauty in their purest forms. The Bible says that we must be joyful. We must be cheeful. And that we must Love God and neighbour (main commandment). (And although there is hardship, there is alo great joy in Christianity). Christianity is ultimately about fulfillment in God. What a way to live ..

JoshuaMoran at live dot co dot uk

Literate Muse said...

Thanks, Joshua, for sharing your testimony. You're 100% correct: God is love, truth, beauty, peace and the rest! Stop by again.

Matthew said...

Quite helpful piece of writing, thanks so much for this post.
Generic Levitra I fully tie in with everything you have printed.

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