The Nature of Faith, part 2

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1, NKJV

I have always loved this verse. Ever since I began seriously studying the Bible and discovered it, I have been unable to forget this singularly powerful statement on the nature of faith. I remember first finding it after a particularly frustrating conversation in Honors Biology with a fifteen year old atheist who demanded proof from me that God created the universe. Before I could answer, my best friend (who had also been playing devil's advocate) snapped, "He doesn't have to prove it; he has faith!" Even though I wanted to smack him for having fed the fire, I did greatly appreciate his declaration.

That was back in the day when I proudly carried my very large New King James Study Bible to school with me, when I helped lead the discussions in the High School Bible Club we had during lunch on Tuesdays, when everybody knew I was the son of a preacher man. But I have to admit, my mind was reeling from the dizzying lunacy of this beautiful creature who boldly declared there was no Creator, that the entire universe--from its far flung cosmic dust right down to the tiniest details of infinite precision--was, in fact, the result of accident and coincidence. It boggled the mind. It still does.

I'm not a scientist. I'm not a philosopher. I'm intelligent and well-read, but I wouldn't consider myself a great thinker. I used my Study Bible to look up some verses on faith, and found this one. I wanted to prove the existence of God. I wanted to find the answer to that girl's challenge. I wanted to be able to wave my enormous Bible in the air and shout for all the world to hear, "You want proof? I got your proof right here!" I wanted something that would change her. Instead, I found something that changed me.

Faith is the substance. Faith is the reality. It's not that I needed proof, but rather I needed to realize that faith is the proof.

Faith. Belief. Conviction. Persuasion. Certitude. Hope.

I have never been the kind of guy who needed evidence of God shown to me. I don't need scientific proof. I don't need Him to show up in person and speak in a big booming voice in order for me to believe. I don't need a seven-foot angel with a telegram on the end of a flaming sword to be convinced. I have faith, and it seems I have always had faith. It was instilled in me from my childhood, from before I could even read. I learned about it through my mother's fervent prayers and my father's bold witnessing. I've never wanted to believe in anything else; I've never needed to question it. It's been challenged, sure, put to the test. It hasn't always gotten me what I wanted. Nevertheless, it is the foundation of my being.

Without faith, there can be no hope. I asked a friend one time--a former believer who had exchanged his faith in God for faith in himself--what the point to life was, in the absence of God. He told me that the point was to live a good life, be nice to others, and make yourself happy. His standard of goodness was not only low, but very movable, and he is one of the most miserable people I've ever known. Without heaven or the promise of eternity, life is void and empty, and hopelessness is the common fare of those who do not or will not believe.

Some people want to see, hear, touch, taste or smell before they will even think about believing. What would they really do if they actually encountered Almighty God in all his power and glory? For me, faith is the substance. Faith is reality. And the things I hope for, I believe I will receive through faith. Some say, "Make your own dreams come true." God says, "Delight yourself in Me, and I will give you the desires of your heart." And since He's done it repeatedly throughout my lifetime, I have no doubts about the future. Faith lends credibility to hope.

And though I cannot see my God with earthly eyes, faith is all the evidence I need. And it is enough.