Faith

In a children’s message one Sunday morning, one of our fearless elders asked the crowd, “What is faith?” The kids weren’t quite sure how to respond to that question. 

Later that afternoon at a youth group function, a few of the adults took a stab. One person said she used to have a poster in her room as a child that was a photo of a kitten barely hanging onto a clothesline. The little claws were just grasping the line, and the caption read, “Faith is hanging on, even when there is nothing to hang on to.” Another volunteer said that she recently saw a sign that read, “Faith is like Wi-fi. You can’t see it, but it keeps you connected!”

Pastor J. Howard Olds puts it like this:

 Faith is the rare courage to act on that which you cannot yet prove to be true.
 Faith is leaving a fresh grave with enough hope to carry on.
 Faith is writing a song of thanksgiving when the rent is due.
 Faith is accepting forgiveness when it seems nothing more than a distant dream.
 Faith is proclaiming peace while you still feel the turmoil inside.
 Faith is letting your hair down enough to receive the mercy of God.
 In the midst of the stress and problems of everyday life, may God grant us faith for the day.

Let us pray: Loving and gracious God, we thank you for your presence through the ups and downs of life. Even though we can’t see you; though we don’t always notice your hand at work, grant us the kind of faith that assures, that comforts, that connects, and that leads us to generosity and service; through Christ our Lord. Amen.