Acting on faith

I live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20).

“Come on! I wanna show you something great!” The boy dashes off into the woods, his friend chasing after him. The youngsters duck low-hanging branches as they charge through the trees. Then, an obstacle—a huge trunk lies across the ground ahead, hiding the path beyond. The first boy yells “jump for it” and hurtles over the fallen tree. His friend puts on an extra burst of speed and blindly follows suit.

Would you have made the jump, not knowing what was on the other side of the log? Or would you have slowed down and stepped over the log cautiously? Would you trust your friend enough to follow his lead and take that leap of faith?

That’s what faith is—acting on trust. It’s easy to say that you have faith, but putting it into practice is another matter entirely. A wife might claim that she trusts her husband, but when he’s in bed and his cell phone is sitting there staring at her, is she tempted to find out who he’s been contacting? A manager might say that he trusts his employees, but will he avoid checking in while away on vacation?

It’s hard to put faith into practice. To have blind faith in someone seems dangerously foolish. Jesus understands this. He wants us to trust Him, but He does not ask for blind faith. During the years that He walked among us here on earth, Jesus performed miracles to prove His identity as the Son of God. He said, believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves (John 14:11). Jesus had the story of His life written down so that people of every generation could share in the faith of His disciples; John finished his Gospel account by saying Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. On top of this, Jesus gives us the sacraments of baptism and communion. Through water, bread and wine, we are allowed to experience the power of God’s love in a tangible way.

The boy chasing through the woods jumped over the log because he trusted that his friend would not lead him into danger. That’s the kind of practical faith that Jesus wants from you. Follow Him with confidence, and He will lead you to someplace wonderful.