Sidney Williams
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This sentence written by the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews nearly 2,000 years ago still gives incredible joy to so many Christians all over the world and yet makes no definitive claim that a non-believer can fully appreciate. Is it possible to hope for things without faith? The other obvious question is faith in what? There are many whose faith is placed in political or economic power and still others whose faith is placed in their individual ability to achieve what they are hoping for; however, in these instances there is generally some evidence on which this type of faith is built on and therefore, the cost are not hidden. On the other hand faith in something for which there is no evidence, has many hidden costs.
Faith in something for which there is no evidence is probably the most difficult thing for a rational person to consider. Few people will go so far as to claim that “God is Dead” like the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. However, there are great numbers of people (Christian and Non-Christian), like Nietzsche, who are looking for foundations that go deeper than Christian values, what he described as “the essence of reality.” In many areas of our lives we prefer to believe that God is either in a comma or in an anatomic state and not able to observe or engage in our daily lives. Many Christians, when challenged about their faith, will say that they are “just trying to be real” or “this is business.”
Obviously there are some hidden costs or aspects of faith that are not commonly discussed or articulated. Instead, faith is commercialized, then personalized and based in large measure on evidence of things seen. This is not the kind of faith the Apostle Paul was writing about. The true torch bearers of the Christian Faith suffered greatly to present their life has a living testimony during times when there was no evidence in sight. We can discover these hidden costs of faith in the testimony of the African slaves, who in the midst of total deprivation of their humanity, still found the audacity of hope to have faith in which there was no evidence. We can also discover the hidden cost in the testimony of the great hymn writers of Europe, who fought to reform the Church. We must also never forget the testimony of the martyrs who held on to the faith in the centuries following the death of Jesus the Christ. These great men and women of the faith counted the cost and willingly gave up their lives to keep the faith.
In a post-modern world where information is communicated around the globe in seconds and many of the mysteries of the dark ages have been revealed through modern science, do we still need the kind of faith that the Apostle Paul writes about; must we incur the same costs. I argue that the costs are even higher now. The 17th Century, French philosopher, Blaise Pascal argued that even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should wager as though God exists, because living life accordingly has everything to gain, and nothing to lose. Perhaps life in Europe at that time made this wager seem like an obvious bet, but we are now living in unprecedented prosperity and convenience. To fully experience the joy and the assurance that comes from a childlike faith in something for which there is no evidence, one must consider the cost.
The first cost is humility. We must come face-to-face with our mortality and our false confidence in worldly systems. This cost is revealed too often at times of great fear and is soon forgotten when the fear has subsided. Without accepting the cost of humility, people often appear as arrogant, charismatic, extroverted and attention seeking. At the same time they feel extremely emotionally vulnerable to rejection and may fly into a rage if they are slighted in this way. It takes great courage as each individual will need to face the trauma they carry rather than simply try to suppress it or try to compensate for the negative effects it causes. Alternatively, this cost was revealed and paid for all eternity when evaluated in light of the knowledge of the incredible love that Jesus demonstrated for humanity. Accepting Jesus Christ as your Redeemer and Lord of your life requires you to surrender faith in yourself and systems and placing your faith in Christ.
The second cost is personal sacrifice. We must come to the conclusion that we are willing to sacrifice all that we have to obtain the grace of God. This cost comes with a paradox, because Jesus already made the greatest sacrifice and thereby has already given humanity the grace it requires. Yet, we must be willing to respond to this offer of extreme love by sacrificing our worldly possessions. In the center of this paradox is the process of learning to trust God for everything rather that what we have evidence of. It is easier for a poor person to accept this grace than a rich person, who has a false sense of humility. At the end of the paradox God will not withhold any good thing for those who serve him. You do not need to take a vow of poverty to serve God, but you must be willing to care for others at all cost.
The third cost is the most illusive, but it requires us to consider God in all our ways – what would Jesus do? In an increasingly secular society, where people are looking for foundations that go deeper than Christian values or what Nietzsche described as “the essence of reality”, we must diligently seek a biblical worldview that informs our response to every area of our life. Without this worldview, we are likely to experience a general mood of despair and a perceived pointlessness of existence. This third cost is more like a “rebate” for those who have faith in God. There isn’t an immediate reward, but there is a promise of something yet to come. For some, the rebates may come through out their lives in the form of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, but at the end of our life we will receives the greatest rebate – eternal life. This good news! Be sure to share it often as possible with others and help make this world a better place for us all.
Amen!
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Thanks for laying it out like this…gives me much to think about.