“And
without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”
(Hebrews 11:6).
Faith comes
in two forms; an easier one and a harder one.
The easier
form of faith is to “believe that he (God) exists”. This is “easier” for two reasons. First, I can see some things that help me
believe. For example, take a few minutes
and look at the starry sky tonight and ask yourself, “Do I really believe that
all those stars and all those galaxies (not to mention all the ones I cannot
see, do not know about and the ones that we have not even discovered yet) came
about by some weird, strange and really good accident?” Think about that long enough and you may come
to the conclusion that it more reasonable to believe in a God who created all
these things. Or, hold a baby and think about
the systems of the body and how they work.
Do some reading about how our eyes work and you may conclude that
someone designed us.
It is easy
to acknowledge a God “somewhere”. He was
back there at creation and maybe he will show up in the future at the end of
all things, maybe even in a “Judgment day”.
However, it is much harder to believe in a God that is here right
now. And that is exactly what makes the
second part of Hebrew 11:6 much harder.
It says, “Anyone
who comes to him must believe that… he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” A more modern translation says that we must
believe, “both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who
seek him.” A God “somewhere” is one
thing. A God “here”, who knows me and my
struggles and my life and one who cares enough to help me, that is another
story. Yet, it is the true story!
My wife,
Sara, likes Luke 12:6-7 which says “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not
one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Think about a God who knows you so well that
he knows every hair on your head (for some of us there is less to count than
others but…).
The
message: Do not be afraid! You are not alone! I, God, am with you. I am not far off. I am not “back there” or “coming someday”, I
am here now!
It is easy
to believe that there is a God. It is
another thing to believe in a God who cares about you.
The good
news is that both statements are true!
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