For me, writing has always been responsive, more contemplative reflection than mindless ritual. That’s how I’ve always preferred it anyway. If too habitual, goes the thought, authenticity could suffer, rendering the writing more a pursuit of vanity than an honest attempt at influencing eyes to see. As such, it’s been such a drought of late the cobwebs had to be cleared from my keyboard. And honestly, even as I type I’m not certain my blog still holds a place in cyberspace.
What brings me back? Nothing less than God’s grace. He has again poured living water into the broken cistern that is my heart, turning parched, dusty ground into a refreshed pool, shallow as it may be. As the water collects, so too do my thoughts, and for the first time in almost a year, there’s enough volume to have something to say. You be the judge of how profound or influential—I’m just glad the rainy season appears to have returned.
Without further adieu, let me expound on faith—something close to the heart of Jesus, as reiterated again and again in Scripture; an object often far from reach for sinners like you and me, as evidenced again and again in our wayward lives. Now there are many facets to faith, so the following exposition shouldn’t be taken as comprehensive, not even close—simply, it endeavors to dig into just a sliver of a most abundant and delectable pie.
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
—Galatians 2:19-21
These particular verses in Paul’s letter to the Galatians set the table quite nicely for the point I wish to make about faith. Focus on the latter half of Verse 20, where the Apostle purports that his faith in the sacrificial love of his Savior is the driver behind the life he ‘now lives in the flesh.’ I take it as incredibly significant that he didn’t limit his statement to, ‘…the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.’ Apparently Paul felt that would’ve been incomplete, so he tags on the phrase, ‘who loved me and gave himself for me.’ That matters. That matters a great deal. Here, Paul’s added quill strokes glorify the object of his faith--Jesus--by ascribing to Him a quality of love unrealized in this life, even by the closest of friends, and a sacrifice compelled by and attached to that transcendent love, one which is literally the epitome of true love (‘Greater love has no man than this…’). And not only does it glorify the Son, it characterizes Paul’s faith in the Son. Mine too.
Disclaimer: what I’m about to say may sound exceptionally pompous, but I honestly believe it to be true.
Not unlike David, I am a man after God’s own heart. I believe God made me that way (as He has undoubtedly made others), with a heart after His own. That is to say, our relationship is based upon, through good and through bad and through, at times, awful, the connection between our hearts, not upon religious ritual or simple subscription to a commonly held creed. I have heartfelt faith in Him, though it waxes and wanes seemingly as often as the monthly cycle of the moon. But the point is, when it’s there, it’s really there—faith in His faithfulness despite the lack of my own. And when it’s not, it’s really not—so no need to feign it.
Before declaring me blasphemous, consider David. He was genuine with God, at times exuberant in joy, at others inconsolable in his disappointment and frustration. His life was far from perfect (like mine!), but his relationship with God was real, raw, unencumbered by pious façade—the only way He wants it anyway.
Back to faith. My faith. I’ve always had this sense that the heart of the matter of faith is that it’s the heart that matters most. And that’s why love is the foundation upon which genuine faith stands. God wants our heart. Nothing less. For better, for worse. And our faith in Him, as imperfect and frail and feeble as it can be, must be rooted there, if it’s authentic…and ultimately productive. James said faith without fruit is counterfeit (paraphrasing here), but faith can only yield fruit out of a fertile heart (think about the direct correlation between obedience and love).
The heart is wild—at one moment in passionate pursuit of its Maker, at another (the next?) swooned by the harlotry of the world. But it is true; the heart does not lie—which is why frank faith originates only from there. And, why our faith in Him matters to Him, above all else.
One more quick point. If faith flows out of the heart, put stock in a desire for God, as slight as it may begin. Another reason for my hiatus: I was waiting on the more significant details of a reinvigorated faith. Results, actually. And it’s not that those aren’t important—they should be the end of such authentic belief. But there’s something captivating, even enchanting, about the moment unadulterated desire for the God of the Universe is sparked. Savor that. Value it the same as your Maker does.
Grace to you, to find satisfaction in the heartfelt desire of faith, even before the details are figured,
Voice of another
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