More on Faith

Words like faith and love have picked up a lot of deceptive meanings over the centuries. Their inaccurate (but assumed) definitions bring much unnecessary harm to many people. The Bible advises us that Satan is the "Father of Lies" and confusing people about what words like faith and love really mean has to be one of his greatest successes.

For example, we grunt and groan to "believe" things that are naturally unbelievable (like eternal life) -- because we feel God requires it of us. He does not require us to believe such things. To do so would be asking us to do what, in many cases, is impossible for us to do.

Unfortunately, this has led many to fight against or deny their doubts. Even more tragic, it has led others to become atheists. Neither is necessary, and it is certainly not what our Creator intended.

He asks us to HOPE for such things and to ACCEPT them by faith. There is a BIG difference, and understanding that difference will free our minds and bring peace to our hearts. We can then cease to make unreasonable demands of ourselves and others -- demands which bring harm to the cause of the Gospel.

Faith is choosing God because He is what we hope for, not what we are convinced of due to the massive amount of evidence. Faith requires us to accept things based more upon hope than upon evidence -- and that makes the world call us fools.

Some would say, "Faith is trusting without any doubt whatsoever and this is how you should pray."

I say that faith is the substance of things HOPED for. Until hope is realized, there will always be room for doubt. But that's OK, because by grace we are saved through our faith and not through our intellect.

I accept Christ as my Savior from eternal death, not because I'm intellectually convinced He is, but because I have enough personal evidence to hope He is.