Defining Faith: Bible Study blog for April 10

Tonight, we heard the remarkable story of Abraham and Isaac.  God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering.  In spite of this unthinkable command, Abraham obeys without question—right up until God stops him from slaying his son.  But before all this, Abraham says to Isaac: “God will provide himself a lamb for the burnt offering.”  He didn’t know how, or when—or even what God was up to.  But God proved himself faithful—and both he and his son learned how faithful God really is.  

Faith is the gift of God that acts in anticipation of God keeping promises—in spite of not knowing what God is up do or what God will do in the future.  It is far more than just intellectually acknowledging the existence of God.  Faith lives and breathes according to how we love and what we do in response to God’s promises.  Faith is built on the foundation of God’s promises, as well as God’s actions in the life of every believer.  Faith gives thanks and remembers God’s goodness in the past—and that remembering serves as the basis for faith in the future, particularly as one struggles to know what God is up to in the present.  Faith expresses itself through testimony—telling others our story of what God is doing in our lives, and living out our call to use the good gifts we are given in service of others.  Faith grows through times of trial.  Faith will often die in the face of life’s disappointments and heartbreaks, but God raises our faith back to life.  In testing, we learn of God’s goodness.   

The times we’re living in put our faith to the test.  The widespread poverty, violence, and hatred in our world suggest that our faith is in vain.  But our God is stronger than evil—and God makes us stronger than evil.  By faith we live as people of hope, proclaiming God’s Gospel in the world and serving our neighbors in love.  Our neighbors need our good works, and they need our testimony of Christ’s love.  The Gospel we proclaim is God’s compassionate love, mercy, and forgiveness revealed in the cross of Christ.  As our neighbors suffer sickness and need; as teens endure rampant bullying; as the world appears to be spiraling out of control, Jesus is pouring out his life for the sake of all.  In faith, we pour out ourselves and our gifts to our neighbor.  As we live out our faith, the power of God is sure to heal broken lives and weary souls. 

It is the faithful people of God who reveal the presence of Christ to the world.  We demonstrate God’s truth by living God’s truth—that this is God’s world, and God loves each of us so much that Christ is given for our sake.  This is good news that everyone needs to hear, to believe, and then to see, by God's good grace.

Our next Bible study will be Thursday, April 24th.