What is Faith?

Will has just come onto the Nottingham YfC team as key worker in Radcliffe and South Notts. In his first blog he talks about the idea of the Christian faith.

I remember in my first few months as a Christian a few people asked if I had Faith. My rather rushed but honest answer was “Erm…a little bit…maybe?”. I didn’t feel that I could answer with a simple “yes” or “no”, I was hardly a spiritual heavyweight but there was a little something there, enough to taste and want more of.

In life, everyone has faith in something or someone. By that I mean something that a person trusts in, relies upon, hopes in, and holds as the direction of life. Every second, we put our trust in something. Imagine you are sat on a chair, your body relies on the structural integrity of the chair to prevent your body from falling on the floor. Or imagine you run and jump. Wouldn’t it be odd if instead of jumping up and landing, you jumped and kept flying through the air?! It is our past experiences that guide us but it is our trust that empowers us in action. It encompasses everything that we see, do, feel, know and experience - an external authority but an internal compass; Faith guides and influences. Can you see how important it is where we put our trust and hope?

Faith affects its surroundings and can be seen through its effects – much like the wind. We can see the leaves being blown around or find it hard to walk into a strong headwind, but we cannot see the environmental air-pressures that cause it.

The book of Hebrews in the New Testament describes faith as “…confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). See how the writer of Ephesians is exploring how faith in God affects our daily lives? God is in everything that we long for, and everything that we don’t understand. He is our reassurance and promise of love and grace.

Back when I was young, everyone seemed to be using the phrase “Faith Grows”. In my early years following Jesus, I had experienced faith growing but didn’t really understand it until I had to start explaining Jesus to people. Faith grows by footsteps and conversations. It’s is a series of personal decisions that we make, to put our lives in the hands of our Father in heaven. Some decisions are bigger and more influential than others, but God loves it when we put our trust and hope in Him, however big or small the decision may appear to be. To Him, every faithful decision is beautiful. I

Faith is a relationship, flowing from one to the other; Jesus offers an eternal hope, joy, forgiveness, peace and love…it is our choice to accept and trust in His amazing love.

Will Lee