This past week, I talked to my freshman and seniors about Faith. What it is, where it comes from, and what it can do. One of the interesting topics of discussion in the curriculum had to do with whether belief, trust, and faith were either the same or different. I had each of the students define faith based on what they knew in class, and then had them go home and Google search other definitions of faith. The following day, each student would share their favorite definition based on their search. Most of them described faith as believing in something you can't see (Heb. 11:1), but a few went beyond to say that faith is believing, despite knowing the outcome. Now we were getting somewhere. C.S. Lewis talked about faith in this way, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
The image you're looking at above here is a simple way to describe these three interchangeable words. If you notice on the lowest stair, we have belief. Now, think of as many words you would associate with the word, belief; words, such as, doctrines, morals, knowledge, Bible study, etc. In other words, belief is the first step in the process of receiving faith that is grounded. Once an individual invests in becoming familiar with a set of beliefs, trust is developed with something or someOne. The second step in the process of receiving faith involves trust. This is where a relationship is developed, and is essential before faith can happen. It is at this point that I had one of my students stand next to a chair, and I would ask them the following questions:
Faith then becomes the process of committing the act. To put it simply, faith is an action.
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AuthorAndrew S. Lee, MDiv Archives
June 2017
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