Faith | Friday, May 19, 2006
FAITH
When it comes to the question of faith or the definition of faith, Abraham the father of faith comes to mind. I hope that it will answer my own questions about faith as I did a quick review on his life, his commitments to God as well as his obedience. Let me put it first that this review was purely of my own opinions, speculations and I am not an Old Testament scholar. What I hope to do was to compare Abraham's character in terms of faith and to draw out precious lessons that I hope will be beneficial to me or to anyone who is reading this blog.
The Bible never says how did Abraham know God or that he has a good relationship with God but it sort of appears to me that when God called Abraham to leave his Father, family and the place where he had lived for a period of time and to go to a place where God said that He will bless him mightily and abundantly, a place where Abraham himself has no idea, and that he obeyed God and took Lot his nephew and his beloved wife Sarah and left for the place where God told him to go. I believed that he is feeling scared for there are a lot of unknowns for him such as will he be killed over there, will he be welcome, will he adapt to a place where the culture and language was unknown to him? Will they take his wife from him by force, or will they kill him because of his wife who was very beautiful? Will he really have a great nation, or many descendants just as God has promised him, or will he inherit a great land, a land of milk and honey? I believe that some of these thoughts and maybe other thoughts unknown to us must have been passing through his head and yet, he obeyed God and went on to a distant land, to the land where God has directed him with all these thoughts weighing upon him.
I once wondered what is it that draws Abraham to believe God so totally and that he's willing to give up everything he had just to follow the promises of God. I can make several conclusions on this and they might not be correct but at least this is what I think.
Abraham must have a good relationship with God and that must have led him to believe totally and fervently in the promises that God has given him. He loved God and that's why he obeyed God to the extent that he is willing to kill his son, his only son when he heard the voice of God telling him that He wanted Abraham to take Isaac as a sacrifice to him on Mount Moriah. I believed at that time, Abraham must have been walking in a path where he couldn't see where he was going and that there is so much fog and smoke covering the road ahead and that he just keep on walking, hoping that he will see a clear road soon. However, what draws him on is simply because he heard God's voice in the midst of uncertainty, in the road filled with smoke and fog, he heard his voice and so he carries on with his way, believing in God's promises and so he obeyed God and walked on the road until he became the father of faith. I believed the reason is that he knows God and he heard his voice and that is why he is able to carry on his difficult road ahead of him that though in the end, he did not see the promises of God materialized in his lifetime, but he died believing that God is faithful and just and that His word will not return to him void, that somewhere and somehow, God will honor his promises to him even though he may not see it in his own eyes. That's to me is faith indescribable.
Why would Peter want to step out of the boat and walk on the water? Is it because he really wants to prove to his other friends that he has faith more than them or just be a showoff? I personally don't think that is so because I believes that he wants to know that it is Jesus who is on the water and he wanted to go to him. He stepped out of the boat, his eyes fixing on Jesus and began to walk on the waters in the midst of the storm, that is faith to me also.
There will be a period of time when all of us are facing uncertainty and that we come to a crossroad. We either stopped or bravely walked forward but to me, I will walk in the smog-filled road if I can hear His voice because to me, what scares me most is that when i walked the road without hearing the voice of God and discovered in the end that God is not there at all and that he has disappeared or covered Himself, that to me is a scenario that I don't dare to contemplate. That is why when people are telling me to move on and I don't dare because i didn't hear his voice especially in areas of missions, and that in the end to discover that God is not there. That, to me, is cruelty and a self-inflicted one.
To have faith and to give up security the way that Abraham is doing is a lesson in which we can draw out for our benefits. My prayer for this blog is that God, help me to listen to your voice when I am not sure where to go, what to do, and that let Psalm 23:4 be my faithful companion that even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. Amen!
Created at 4:29 PM
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Name: Joseph Chia
Age: 28
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