Saving Faith!

What is faith? - Belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof. Or it could be a strongly held set of beliefs or principles. However even though there are other variations of what faith actually entails for many, the obvious conclusion for all factions that claim to have faith believes in the unseen without a necessity for logical proof to assist in their findings.

Faith stretches across many spectrums, for some radicals they are even willing to blow themselves up, a human-bomb in the name of their cause. There has to be strong motivation to get an individual to carryout such an act. Faith is pivotal for these types of actions. But this is not the faith I want, I want to be involved with saving faith and not a faith that hinges on hate. Christianity centres on the opposite, which is forgiveness and when I seek it out and find it, it will leave me changed forever; it will bring about radical transformation and be driven out of acts of love. I may even have to lose my life because of it and that I would welcome if such a time arrived, just so long as the name of Jesus Christ my Messiah is fundamental through it all. His ultimate sacrifice brings about such faith in the lives of those who have been called. Why a man like Peter would be prepared to be crucified upside down leaves me with an obvious conclusion, he had an encounter with the only true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He envisioned eternity, he caught a glimpse of the bigger picture and what God has in store for those whom He loves. 

What we all need is saving faith! Which results with us being assured that we are on the right track, it eliminates all guess work and its conviction brings understanding. This faith opens our eyes to see God in another dimension as if we were looking squarely at Him. The writer of Hebrews sums it up like this; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) – It is nothing short of miraculous!

Let’s endeavour to unpack how it works and what we as individuals are call to do to find it; we will use the woman with the “issue of blood” (Luke 8:43) to get a clearer understanding. She did everything in her own power and spent her life saving trying to remedy her dilemma, but to no avail. However, somehow she had heard of the man Jesus maybe as she traversed the market place while shopping for her daily supplies, or she could have attended one of His rallies and finally it may just have been the testimony of the lives of those closest to her whose lives Christ had changed, God knows! One thing I am persuaded about was she believed with all her heart that He had the answer; she understood that the Lord Jesus Christ could heal her. All she needed to do was reach out and touch Him or just get close enough to touch the hem of his garment. She was motivated and nothing was going to stop her from, her intent was deliberate as her life depended upon it, how about you? Is there a need in your life to find the answer of your existence, have you asked yourself what the purpose of life is all about and where you fit in with eternity in mind? Are you as persuaded as she was to walk a life filled with faith, outside the control of our own capabilities? Or have you got everything under control? The majority of the earths’ population is always looking to take care of tomorrow at the expense of today. She didn’t care about tomorrow or next week all she purposed was to push through the masses to get to Jesus and somehow, hidden in the crowd she eventually achieved her objective and she touched the helm of his garment and was immediately healed. Wow! A miracle driven by faith!

As a photojournalist I too know what it is like to be swamped by a crowd, it can be rather daunting, and the only thing your mind keeps telling you to do is stay on your feet because if you fall you will never get up again. The most vivid memory I have of that was with Nelson Mandela in Smal Street in Johannesburg with thousands of people following him as he walk through the city, everyone trying to get closer to get a better look, it was maniac and the pressure from all sides was intense and I could feel an awareness of my adrenaline heighten as I recognized I needed to be on guard against any sudden mishap that would leave me at the mercy of the pressing crowd.

This woman must have given very little though to that, all she knew was that she needed to touch the helm of his garment, she achieved her goal and was miraculously heal right there and on the spot. “She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.” (Luke 8:44) – Saving faith has an immediate upshot on those affected by it. Its not as if she was only partially heal, it was a complete restoration.  

Our lives are filled with goals, which vary between short and long term objectives. If your life does not revolved around reaching out and touching Jesus on a daily basis you have missed the purpose of life. The saved see Him as He is, their merciful Redeemer, whilst others cling to an idea of faith in God and remain blind to Him. Their lives are filled with attempts to score points with God and all because of their own merits, hoping that their good deeds will outweigh the bad. Unless we can all arrive at the same conclusion and forget all the other voices out there and push through the crowds to touch Jesus, we will not understand the concept of saving faith. We must be measured in our determination to find Him and seek out His forgiveness for our sins.

Although it is God who gives us faith, look at the Lords response; “But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me." And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."” (Luke 8:46-48)

Do you see the connection? It’s our faith in the unseen God that heals us, and once we have this type of faith all is understood. - “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) – If you have been called, if you have experience saving faith, if your eyes have been opened to God and His existence and His involvement with all of creation then it is up to us to use the gifts He has given us by getting involved in helping others. Just as Christ laid down His life for the called, so too must we lay down our lives for others.

Signing off

Tyrone