Looking at my online dictionary, the definition of the word, ‘faith’ is thus:  “When you have faith, you trust or believe in something very strongly.  It comes from the old French word, feid, meaning belief, faith, trust, confidence, pledge.  Faith is often equated to religion or the supernatural:  Having faith in God or whatever faith, one adheres to.

Faith, however, doesn’t necessarily mean spirituality.  For example, it can have a very-worldly meaning which usually means a materialistic one.   For example, for those playing the lottery or for those that gamble, they have faith, that one day their numbers will come up and that they will hit the jackpot.  People have faith that their car will not let them down, the house they move into will be perfect, and a new job will arrive with the salary they have been looking for, etc.

People also have faith that their life partner will be there forever, that their children will grow up to be the people they want them to be, that our parents will always be there for us and that our best friend/s will be a true friend forever, etc.

Some people have put their faith in actors, musicians, tv and social media stars, footballers, etc.  We live in a world where so-called celebs, are put on a pedestal like Gods, with gullible followers to boot.

Right now, with the COVID virus running rampant, many people are putting their faith in the vaccines.

Faith in ‘things’ may bring temporary relief or satisfaction, but we still ultimately, have that God-shaped hole, that people or material things cannot fill.  People may follow other faiths, politics, philosophies, etc, but in the end, if they are honest, there is still something missing, though of course, the may deny it.

Satan loves to steer people from faith in God, to lure them to have faith in things that in the end are baseless and meaningless.  Likewise, other religious figures like Buddha and Muhammed, etc, may offer a faith of sorts and they may even bring security and comfort; however, when compared to Jesus Christ, they are found wanting.  Earlier on, I described having faith in people can sometimes be hurtful as they may let you down or disappoint you (even if, that was not their original intention).  So faith in people, other than God, will ultimately let you down, as they were just men, not like Christ, who was God in human form.  Ultimately, if you wish to test the Christian faith, make a commitment to Jesus today, you will not regret it.  This involves true repentance from the heart for the sins we have committed while placing faith and trust in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, and was raised from the dead, for our justification.

Jesus never said we wouldn’t have trials, but the difference between Jesus and other faith founders is this:  Christ will be with us in all our trials, by his spirit.

The Got Questions website says that “according to the Bible,  faith is essential to Christianity.  Without demonstrating faith and trust in God, we have no place with Him.  We believe in God’s existence by faith.  Most people have a vague, disjointed notion of God but lack the reverence necessary for His exalted position in their lives.  These people lack the true faith needed to have an eternal relationship with the God who loves them.  Our faith can falter at times, but because it is the gift of God, given to his children, He provides times of trial and testing in order to prove that our faith is real and to sharpen and strengthen it.  This is why James tells us to consider it “pure joy” when we fall into trials because the testing of our faith produces perseverance and matures us, providing evidence that our faith is real (James 1:2-4).

The way of the cross and the faith we follow, as Christians, is not a bed of roses, but we know that God is with us, always.

Finally, I will leave the last of this article to Jesus himself:

Mark 11:22-24: And Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him”.

God bless you,

Nick.