A Funny Little Thing Called 'Faith', Part II

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What is true of real estate is equally true of a person's faith: it's all about location, location, location.

In my last submission to this column I stated that the word "faith" is a verb that requires an object when it is used in a sentence. To speak of faith merely as a thing all by itself is too confusing for conversation. So, with some help from the word "in" we are able to bridge the gap between the act of faith and its object. But even if we successfully build this bridge we are going to want to know if the bridge is worth crossing. We will want to know just what, or who is on the other side.

According to the story of the Bible (and by story I do not mean to suggest that it is fictional) the object on the other side of the bridge is God Himself. Actually, to tweak the analogy just a bit, the picture that the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments presents is one of a grand chasm where we humans are on one side and where God is on the other. The story of the Bible tells us that at one time this chasm or spiritual separation did not exist. There was a time when a bridge between people and a holy God was unnecessary. In fact, the first couple pages of the Bible describe a relationship that the first humans had with God that was absolutely perfect. But then we read that something happened; everything changed.

Theologians will tell you that what happened was that sin entered the world and what changed was the perfect divine-human relationship that was once enjoyed. The theologians are correct but we need to be clear on what all this means. When I say that the Bible speaks of sin entering the world, try not to picture sin as some foreign object, falling from the sky, entering our world like a meteor from outer space. Sin entered the world through the rebellious hearts of the first man and woman. Sin has ruled over the hearts of every man and woman ever since. (Well, all except for one man, but we will get to that). In our hearts there is an ongoing attempt to "degod" God, that is an attempt to remove God from power and to assume that role for ourselves.

You can imagine what rebelliousness does to a relationship! You've heard the expression, "don't go burning any bridges," haven't you? Well, according to the story of the Bible that is exactly what each and every one of us has done. The trouble we now face is that even if we wanted to rebuild the bridge, no one on our side of the separation is qualified to make the repairs. We are stuck on this side of the chasm and that is a hell of a place to be (pun intended). But knowing we are stuck and lacking the repair qualifications can't prevent us from attempting to engineer our own solution.

The process is pretty universal. First, we deny that there is really anything wrong with us. We won't let a little thing like a grand chasm trouble us. Second, we get angry and shout, "This isn't fair! If God is so good, why didn't He keep us out of this mess in the first place?" Then third, we begin to bargain with God. We try to calculate just how many Sundays in church or how many good deeds will convince God to look the other way at our rebellious hearts. Whether we realize it or not we are all grieving the loss of a relationship with our Creator. It is then and only then that we will come to the realization that the bridge needs to be built from the other side in order to reach us on our end.

So what does all this talk about objects of prepositions, bridges, and the story of the Bible have to do with that funny little thing we call "faith"? As I said at the beginning, what is true of real estate is equally true of person's faith: it's all about location, location, location.

The bridge is the central picture in the story of the Bible. The New Testament writers used the word "gospel" to describe this picture. This "gospel" or "good news" that these New Testament authors announced is the message that God has indeed built a bridge from His side of the chasm over to us. What might surprise us is that His bridge is neither a thing like a religious system or a code of ethics, nor is it a place like a temple or a church. The bridge is actually a person, and that person is His Son, Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel is that God has accomplished the necessary work of reconciliation between Himself and rebellious humanity that both satisfies His justice and expresses the fullness of His love.

There are still two questions that I need to answer yet. First, how exactly has God accomplished this divine-human reconciliation, and second, is this "bridge" truly worthy of our trust, that is, is Jesus a worthy object of our faith? But with my allotted writing space having nearly run out, I must postpone the conclusion of my argument until my next submission. And so again I say, "To be continued..."

[This column was originally written for and published in the August 31, 2011 edition of the EV Star, North English, IA]