Faith is not an ethereal imaginative concept. It is real and tangible. It is the eternal perspective that transforms our speech and activity. What we do now is based on who we believe He is in eternity. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commended him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith,” Hebrews 11:1-7.
Simply put, faith is a belief system or perspective that operates from the character of God. Because I believe that He is who He says He is, I do and say things that are consistent with His person. I believe that He is my Eternal Benefactor. Everything I need is in Him. Therefore, I demand nothing of any source. He is my Eternal Source. Faith insists that God is the One who redeems and restores and rewards. Faith refuses to seek out any other means of redemption, restoration or reward. Faith liberates perspective! If I trust my Father to bestow His Eternal benefits upon my Life; knowing that I will experience some in the temporal realm and all in the eternal realm, I am free to discontinue pressing and pushing to get anything for myself! I am free to perceive this Life as an opportunity to gain! I am free to give because I never lose. All of my losses will be redeemed, all of my walls restored, all of my willful giving rewarded.
My faith is not unfounded. It has been proven in the Son. He died and was raised. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” Ephesians 2:4-10. God has simply asked us to believe that He deeply loves our life as much as He loves the life of His Son. God raised the Son. God will raise us. God has completely redeemed, restored and rewarded the Son. He will completely redeem, restore and reward us.
Faith is the evidence of things unseen...how is it evident? Through action. In Hebrew, faith means steadiness, reliability, faithfulness. To have faith is to be faithful. It is not enough to just believe. Belief wavers. I can believe something one day, and believe something contrary the next. But to have faith...like the heroes of faith you've mentioned in Hebrews 11...is to be faithful in any circumstance. To not waver, but stand, steadfast.
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