Faith

Faith in daily life
In our day to day life we have to have faith and belief in people. For example, you have faith that the bus driver will drive you to the destination on the timetable. You have faith in a chef who you have never met will prepare a meal that won’t poison you and that you will enjoy. You have faith in teachers that the information they give you is correct and true so you can build your knowledge on it. In an intimate relationship, you have to have faith and trust in the person who gives you their first assurances of love. Good marriage is based on loyalty and faithfulness. So you see the things we are most sure about in every day life began simply by an act of faith and trust.

Faith in God
Now Christadelphians have faith and trust in God. Now some people may say “How can you put faith in someone you can’t see?” Yet we have seen how faith exists in daily life. We could go back to our chef. You didn’t see him in the kitchen but you saw the results of his work in the plates of food on the tables. In the same way we can’t see God, but we can see the works of His hands in creation. Now I have never seen Sir Christopher Wren, but I have faith in the fact that he existed. And if you go down to London you can see evidence that he existed when you look at St Paul’s cathedral. It was designed and planned by Sir Christopher Wren. He organised the builders, they got the materials and it was created. We can see it today and label it as Sir Christopher Wren’s design, trusting and having absolute faith that the information is true and correct.

The evidence
Now the natural world around us, such as birds, plants and animals, is truly amazing. How can a great oak tree grow from a small acorn? The birth of a child is a miracle. The flight of a bird and their migration to the other side of the world is amazing. Now to me they are all indicators of a great designer and creator. The natural laws of nature are all in place to make these things happen. The oak seed needs soil, water, warmth and light and they are provided. The birth and development of a child from a fertilised egg and the formation of cells to produce a child works in a sequence that is still not fully understood. And the birds know how to navigate by the moon and stars to get to Africa as though it was already programmed into their design. These are all strong evidence to me that God exists. Like St Paul’s is strong evidence that Sir Christopher Wren existed.

And if evidence of nature isn’t enough, God has given us His word the Bible where we can read prophecies about the Jews, his people, returning to their land. There are also many prophecies about other nations in the Middle East, the majority of which have come to pass. As we cannot see into the future with any certainty, such things must come from God. The truth of the Bible comes to light as archaeologists dig to look into the past and expose sites and artefacts which back up the Bible record. In the nineteenth century there was much doubt about the existence of Babylon frequently mentioned in the Bible, and now the archaeologists have found this city.

Believing is doing
So if you believe in God, what’s the next step? In the same way that you trust the unseen chef by eating the meal he has produced, the next step is to take action. Your faith will then live in your life.

In Hebrews 11 we see men and women who had strong faith and trust in God. They were confident in His existence, His power and His promise. Their faith meant something to them and produced action to do what was right. We are told in verse 13 ‘These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them.’ They were absolutely convinced that that what God said was true, so much so that it affected their lives and how they behaved. Abraham was asked to leave a settled life and face the wilderness in search of a land he had never seen before and which he did not know. Why was Abraham so sure of the unknown land? Because he was utterly sure of the unseen God. Noah was asked to build a huge liner in the middle of the dry land and he was persuaded that the flood God warned him about would come. Moses’ faith caused him to refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer the afflictions with the people of God than enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season. These were not easy things to do, but their absolute faith and belief in God moved them to do what they did.

They were ordinary people like you and me but did extraordinary things in the strength of their absolute faith in God. Hebrews 11:6 reads ‘without faith it is impossible to believe God, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.’

Marcus & Rachel Goodwin