Faith is one of those things that everyone seems to “get” unless you try and explain it to someone. It is a belief? Is it trust? Is it certainty? Is it deluding yourself?
I have heard some people describe faith as having a vision for things unseen, but hoped for. Frankly, while I get the gist of what the author of this definition was getting at, this definition still has always bothered me. Perhaps it’s because what I call faith really isn’t all that based on things unseen for me.
For example, as I alluded to in my last blog post, I believe that the things we can see and observe around us point to all powerful God who created the Universe and everything in it. I don’t believe this blindly; I took a hard look at the scientific evidence, and realized that it takes far more “faith” to believe that everything we see around us was a giant cosmic accident than it does to believe that there is a Creator. The odds against everything we see happening by accident are staggeringly small; what I see reinforces my faith.
Today, I dropped my spouse off at the airport for a mission trip to Brazil where the mission is to work with children who are at risk for being victims of human trafficking (which is one of the worst evils that exist in this world today). This is the first time anyone in our family has done a mission trip at all, let alone dealing with an evil so heinous, countries often refuse to acknowledge it as a problem for fear of how they will look on the world stage.
Add that to the fact that my spouse has only been on a plane 2 other times and has never been in a foreign country (besides Canada), let alone a developing one, well, suffice it to say that there is a lot one could be nervous about.
You’d never know it from the car ride down to the airport though. My spouse has been a picture of calm all week. In fact, in thinking about it, I have seen nothing but a response in perfect “faith” since God’s call was heard loud and clear all those months ago.
And, God has been faithful. He has provided all of the money that was needed to fund the trip. He provided timing that worked out perfectly with everyone’s schedules. He equipped my spouse with skills that are absolutely needed down there. I am really quite in awe of all that’s gone on these past few months.
As I sit here and process all of this, I am once again struck by the notion that faith isn’t always something unseen. I have been fortunate to see it lived out in front of me for the past six months or so! Faith, to me, is better defined by actions instead of words.
I could not be prouder of the one I love serving God’s Kingdom in amazing ways, and I am humbled by being married someone who has a heart to leave our first world to go help those who cannot help themselves. I pray that God’s love transforms lives through this trip.