(an excerpt from my book, Snowballs Taking Chances)

www.SnowballsTakingChances.com

Luke 18:8 "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Leaving Home

When our eldest son decided, after much consideration of course, that it was time for him to leave home, he packed his belongings and his sleeping bag and slowly but confidently headed for the front door. At that moment, it all began to hit us like a ton of bricks; the first step toward an empty nest, our first born son taking a step toward manhood; it was like losing a piece of our hearts.

My wife, as she is often given to worry about practical matters, proceeded to ask him how he would support himself and where he would live. It was typical of a mother about to release her child and not wanting to let go. He responded to her by saying, "Mom, you just have to have faith. Jesus will take care of me." It was precious to us; a child we had raised, clinging to his knowledge of God ... a kind of simple faith ... a childlike faith that would surely sustain him through the rough times. Call it a lack of faith on our part or just simply unbelief, but we still had some nagging concerns-not the least of which was the fact that he was only six years old.

But not wanting to stifle his creativity or to invade his right to individuality, we let him go and pointed him in the direction of his aunt and uncle, who live a block away. We called them and informed them of Joshua's decision to live with them, and I instructed his Uncle Sam (no relation) to put him to work-to make him earn his keep.

After about an hour or so of dusting and cleaning, Joshua had a change of heart and began to look for a chance to escape. The opportunity came when he noticed that both his aunt and uncle had gone upstairs. He seized the moment and ran for his life, leaving behind everything he had taken with him including his favorite toys. He came running through the back door, slamming it against the stove, and he embraced us like the Prodigal Son returning from his journey. He quickly forgot about whatever it was that he wasn't allowed to do that prompted his departure. Alice and I weren't sure whether to laugh or cry, but we were happy to have him back; the whole scenario had a strange feeling of reality and permanence to it. As I write, he is now a teenager and hasn't run away since.

Circumstantial Faith

In many ways, my son's flawed rationale as he left the house is very similar to the approach we take as modern Christians to our faith in the heavenly Father. For example, take a look at the false security in which my son took confidence as he prepared to leave home. He had gotten so used to the provision of his every need that he developed a false sense of security in his circumstances, giving no thought to the provider-me. Now I realize that God provides for him through me, but God teaches reliance on the Father through the father-child relationship. If this is missing in a child's life, it could be a roadblock to his faith in God later in life, and nothing short of divine intervention will be able to restore that trust. Only a single mother can truly appreciate how profoundly the absence of a father can impact a child, and only a God whose Son was murdered by the likes of us can fill that void for both of them.

So like a child who has run away, we tend to take for granted the provision of God and to assume it will always be there, regardless of how we live our lives. We make decisions based on our own human calculations, and then we ask God to stamp it with his signet ring, without giving any consideration to what His plan might be.

Childlike Faith

Our goal, then, is to develop a faith that is in God, Himself, and not our circumstances. When God reveals His love as a Father, we begin to understand that He has our best interests in mind-even if we don't understand our circumstances. My children don't always understand the decisions I make, but they have trust that my love for them will cause me to make the decisions that are best for them; it is a "childlike faith."

What begins to tear down this faith is the development of intellect, coupled with peer pressure (plus or minus a few hormones). Once the intellect is fully formed, amazingly at the age of 13 or 14, we begin to question everything, and suddenly that loving father and mother have changed into an evil coalition that exists solely to spoil our fun.

As a child, when we skinned our knees, we didn't question the existence of God and his goodness, and probably didn't cry out, "How could a loving God allow me to skin my knee?" But with age comes the realization that God has the ability to prevent some of the pain and suffering we experience, and suddenly resentment toward God and self-pity cause a wedge in the relationship.

Pain and Suffering

The last thing I want to do is trivialize anyone's pain and suffering in this life, and it is unlikely I will be able to adequately cover the topic in a short sub-section of one chapter. But rather than skip the topic altogether, I'll just offer a few thoughts for consideration.

It is much easier to discuss sin and the resulting consequences than it is to understand the seemingly random pain and suffering we experience in life; the cause-effect aspect of suffering is far less obvious than that of sin and consequences. There are many things in this fallen state of humanity that will fail to make any sense on this side of eternity: death, tragedy, abortion, sickness and disease, the loss of a child, poverty, and the list goes on. So rather than try to explain why these things happen, it would be more profitable for us to explore the outcome of pain and suffering, and hopefully in doing so it will become more clear to us why God allows such things to happen.

One aspect about suffering is that it causes us to take our focus away from temporal things and place it on things eternal. We are under the mistaken impression that God's sole purpose is to keep us comfortable and well fed in this life, but God's ultimate goal is that you and I spend eternity with him. If pain and suffering drive us to our knees, then pain and suffering ultimately have incalculable eternal value.

Now, I realize the last statement will be no comfort to those who are suffering, but maybe this next statement will be. We have a God who endured the worst pain and suffering known to mankind so that we might spend eternity with him. Somehow, when we are focused on him, his grace is sufficient to carry us through.

The crucifixion of Christ represents the most unjust torturing of an innocent person that has ever been known to mankind, but it is much more than that from God's perspective. For reasons beyond our ability to comprehend, our salvation hinged on one man's obedience and sacrifice, and at the time, it made sense to no one who was associated with Him. Those who believe that all pain and suffering comes as a result of un-repented sin will have a very difficult time explaining the death of Christ. No theologian or philosopher could have predicted by deduction or induction or intuition or even common sense that the salvation of this corrupt world would come as a result of the death of the Son of God. It doesn't make sense-but what a glorious reality it is.

Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

The Antidote to Self -Sufficiency

Another aspect of pain and suffering is that it brings us back to the realization of how desperately in need we are for the heavenly Father to sustain us. Our tendency as human beings is to become reliant on our own self-sufficiency, but the reality is that this world is hopelessly out of control, and we are no more able to provide for ourselves than a child in the womb. It often takes a crisis to make us fully aware of our need for the provision and guidance of the Father.

Faith, by its very definition, must be tried, or it is not faith at all. We think God tests us in order to find out how strong our faith is, but I am discovering that trials have more to do with God revealing to us the level of faith we have; it is more for our benefit, not His. He is forming us in His image, not trying to find out what the family resemblance is.

As an example, when my wife and I were first married, we had a lot of accumulated debt as a result of poor decisions. (I say "we" because when you get married, you become one with your spouse, and you get to shift the blame to your partner. This is a very biblical concept, and I have Scripture quotes available upon request.) Our idea of a budget in our early married life was to finance what we wanted and then try to find a way to make enough money to pay for it. I was self-employed, so I-I mean we-were very self-reliant when it came to finances. We thought we were slick enough to get ourselves out of anything.

So, when the creditors started calling-every day-we stopped answering the phone. It got to the point where we hated to hear the phone ring. My pride refused to admit that we were in trouble, and I had convinced myself that it was just a matter of time before the big money started rolling in. We had a nice truck, fully loaded, on which I received many compliments, and we at least had the appearance of being successful.

Until-on Good Friday no less-a man came to our door and asked in a somewhat forceful tone to have the keys to the truck. So on Good Friday that year, my pride was crucified with Christ. I was at the end of myself and had nothing left but the house on which to attach my pride, which I vowed never to sell because I knew it would be difficult to ever get another mortgage.

We sold the house for a nice profit making a small dent in our debt situation, but the day we moved was the worst day of my life. I had nothing left; no pride, no money, no house and no truck. All of those truly important things in life-none of which I had. What I did have was a wife in the hospital delivering our second child, Karine, the worst moving day of the year with temperatures below zero, and the flu (with all of its symptoms). It has been said, "When God closes a door, he opens a window," and I was looking for a window from which to leap.

But that day, God gave me a lead on a job through a Christian friend of ours. It was a good job with good pay and good benefits, and I jumped at the opportunity. God took that shell of a man, void of any purpose or meaning, and began to fill me and form me into His image. I make light of the situation now, but at the time there was very little to laugh about. I had succeeded in hurting anyone and everyone who was close to me, but most of all, my wife Alice, who had to deal with the phone calls and threatening letters day-in and day-out while she was at home raising our children.

I should clarify, I don't consider financial difficulties to be on the same level as watching a loved one suffer from a terminal disease or the loss of a child, but to a young marriage, the suffering was real, nonetheless. Through all of this, we often wondered why God was allowing such pain in our lives, when He had the ability to change it in a heartbeat. Only now, when I look back, can I see that God was driving out of me (and still is) this tendency to trust in myself for my provision and identity. God still reminds me of this lesson from time to time, and each time I am a little less stubborn than the time before ... I hope-I mean we hope!

Romans 5:3-5 "... we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

All sufferings in life will not be this obvious or as clear in their explanation, but we put our hope in the character of God and have faith in the goodness of His will. As Christ said in the Garden of Gethsemane, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)

Faith as Righteousness

Faith is described in Hebrews 11:1 as "... being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." This verse does not suggest that we should have faith in our ability to hear God or in our ability to summon Him when we have needs to be met. Some of the faith movements in our society distort the Gospel and treat God more like a genie than the Creator of the universe. By His grace, He answers our prayers through faith, but He is in no way obligated to do so. A truly unshakable faith is rooted in His character, not in our ability to understand His character.

Many men and women of faith in the Bible stood firm because their eyes were focused on God. When Peter began to walk on water, he was able to do so as long as his eyes were focused on Christ. As soon as he took notice of the wind and waves, his faith was shaken and he began to sink. On the other hand, the example of Abraham was one of steadfast faith:

Romans 4:3, 18 "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness"... "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations ..."

According to this passage, faith is a form of righteousness. It was not Abraham's outward observance of the requirements of God's law that was "credited to him as righteousness," but his faith. I make this distinction because in chapter three, I said that no one is saved by the observance or completion of a set of traditions or rituals, but by faith in Christ.

In the book of Romans, Paul zeroes in on this theme of "Faith as Righteousness" because many of his fellow Jews were placing a supreme value on the physical act of circumcision-as opposed to the true conversion of the heart-and he viewed this as a grave mistake. Paul's intent in his letter to the Romans was to assure the Gentiles that it was possible to be saved without having observed the Jewish rite of circumcision, and he does this by showing that Abraham was justified by faith even before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:9b-11a, 13-15a "We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised ...

... It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath."

Paul used the example of Abraham to show that faith, not performance, is at the heart of our eternal destinies. His goal was not to discredit the law, but to shift our attention away from our ability-or inability-to fulfill the laws of God and point it toward the saving work of Christ. Above, he says, "... if those who live by the law are heirs, faith has no value ..." So faith acquires its value for each one of us as we surrender our right to try to work our way into heaven. Should we, then, ignore the commands of God as a way of expressing faith?

Romans 3:31 "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather we uphold the Law."

Christ showed us through His example that the righteousness acquired by faith is brought to its proper completion through the outward observance the law, not unlike the sign of circumcision for the Jews. Obedience to the law of God is the outward sign of an inward change.

Matthew 3:13-15 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

Faith is the prerequisite to the righteousness offered by Christ, and only through faith will our lives be pleasing to God.

Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

How Do I Know If I Have Faith?

So if faith is necessary to please God, how can each of us honestly assess this area of our spiritual journey? Well, first and foremost, every one of us who has chosen to accept the atoning death of Christ as payment for our sins is off to a good start; this requires a supreme act of faith. But faith is something that should continue to grow and strengthen as we mature in our relationship to God, and one look at our life decisions will speak volumes about the maturity of our faith. We often marvel at the faith (or stupidity) of the person in the circus who is the assistant to the knife thrower. He or she stands still against a board as the master throws razor sharp knives, outlining the assistant's body with great precision. The audience applauds and shows great faith in the knife thrower, but is it really faith, or is it hopeful optimism? One way to find out is to ask for a volunteer to play the part of the assistant. Suddenly, I believe you will find out how much faith there really is in the audience.

Now, this is not a perfect analogy because God is not in the business of getting us as close as possible to danger to see if we'll flinch. But it works from the standpoint that many of us proclaim great faith in the Lord until he asks us to put our lives and our decisions into his hands. Then, all of a sudden our applause for His greatness goes quiet, and we sneak out the back door with the shameful realization that we don't trust Him at all. A person of great faith is one who believes in the character of God regardless of the external circumstances, and one who obeys the voice of God without reservation. But the question still is: "Where does this type of faith come from?"

The Fatherhood of God

1 John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God."

One important element of faith is the life of prayer that supports it, and to understand prayer we must first address the question of why God bothers listening to us at all. In Andrew Murray's book With Christ in the School of Prayer, he states, "The secret of prayer in spirit and truth is in the knowledge of the fatherhood of God, the revelation of His infinite fatherliness in our hearts, and the faith in His infinite love of us as His children." He goes on to say, "To have Christ the Son, and the Spirit of the Son dwelling within us and revealing the Father makes us true spiritual worshippers."

I will be addressing the topic of prayer later in the book, but for the purposes of this chapter, suffice it to say that if getting to know God as Father is crucial to a life of prayer, than it is equally crucial to forming an unshakable faith. It is no small coincidence that the crisis of faith in our country is accompanied by a deterioration of the role of the natural father in families around the globe. As a result of the fallen state of humanity, our first glimpse into the character of God is flawed because it comes through the father-child relationship. It is no wonder that we often view the Heavenly Father in the same way we view our earthly father. For example, if a child has been abandoned, abused, or neglected by his or her biological father, the pain and heartache might carry over into a mistrust or even hatred of the Heavenly Father.

As I look into the eyes of my own children, I begin to understand why God chose the father-child relationship as a standard for our relationship with Him. Since we are quite limited in our knowledge of the Creator, eternal life, the soul, the Spirit, and His love for us, God chose the father-child relationship to help explain all of this in terms we could understand as fallen human beings. I don't understand the dynamics of why I love my children so much and why I would give my life for them, but my inability to understand this type of sacrificial love does not negate its existence. Furthermore, I understand even less the abandonment of an earthly father and the intense pain and anguish and suffering that must follow, but those who have known this level of pain and anguish firsthand possess an insight to the crucifixion that I will never be able to fully comprehend.

I am not attempting to put a positive spin on the neglect of an earthly father, but to draw attention to an aspect of the Cross that is often overlooked. It is my belief that for Christ, what was more painful than the abandonment of friends, the spitting and mocking, the lashing of the whip, the weight of the cross, the crown of thorns cutting into His skull or the piercing of the nails into his hands and feet, was the feeling of abandonment by the Father that he experienced as the sins of the world were placed on His shoulders. "My God, my God ... why have you forsaken me?" (Mt. 27:46)

His grace was not cheap; it came at a great price, and through this price He has lavished on us the privilege of being called His sons and daughters.

At a youth retreat a few years back, I was serving as a counselor, and as I was listening to a teaching on the various aspects of God's character, God spontaneously poured out a knowledge of His love for me that caused me to weep uncontrollably. What caused this was a very simple drawing that each of us received depicting a small child reaching up to take hold of the strong and loving hand of his father. As I was staring at the picture, an incredible sense and awareness of God's Fatherly love just surrounded me as if I was being held in the palm of His hand. As I sat there with my face in my hands, I have to admit I was somewhat embarrassed; I was there as a counselor, and I saw it as my responsibility to pray with those who were too weak to control their emotions. Anyway, I discreetly made my way to the restroom and stayed there until I gained my composure, but I was forever changed in my understanding of the Fatherhood of God. More than a decade and a half later, I still carry that simple drawing with me in my Bible to remind me of what God revealed to me that day.

Once the Father divinely reveals to us through His Spirit that we are His children, it is the beginning of a truly unshakable faith in His Son, and it dispels the spirit of fear, opening the door to all other areas of Christian maturity. Then we will be able to truly say, "our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Rom. 8:15-17 "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Italics added)

A faith that is built upon the revelation of the Fatherhood of God by the Spirit may then be used as a shield of protection as we engage the spiritual battles that a child of God will inevitably face.

The Shield of Faith

Ephesians 6:16 "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one."

The NIV Scripture concordance I use explains that the shield described in the verse above was a "Roman shield covered with leather, which could be soaked in water and used to put out flame-tipped arrows." It has been my experience that, although the shield of faith is primarily a gift from God, there are certain ways in which we are responsible for keeping the leather soaked in the water of the Holy Spirit. For example, if we go for long periods of time without studying Scripture or praying, the leather becomes dry and brittle, and it doesn't take much for the "evil one" to set it ablaze. Also, if we separate ourselves for long periods of time from the Church or from hearing God's Word, our faith is easily weakened by the "flaming arrows."

Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

So if we separate ourselves from hearing the message, our faith is hindered.

The Three Components of the Shield

At the risk of oversimplifying it, the shield of faith is made up of three major components. The first component is the shield itself, which represents the divine gift of faith necessary for us to respond to the Gospel message. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit and cannot be tainted by human failings and weaknesses.

But in order for this faith to be effective in spiritual battle, it is covered in leather, which is the second component. This leather represents the element of faith tied to our level of belief, and it consists of all the things God has put into place to make the shield effective in extinguishing the arrows of the enemy. Some examples would be the Church, prayer, Christian fellowship, worship, teaching, service, etc.

The third component is the water of the Holy Spirit, necessary for keeping the elements of our faith from developing dry rot. A faith weighed down by several layers of spiritual leather but without the drenching of the Holy Spirit ends up being just a really heavy piece of armor, likely to be thrown off to the side as the soldier becomes weary. The Holy Spirit is not only responsible for making our faith effective, but also for giving us the strength to lift the shield of faith to use it.

Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

Up to this point, we have studied the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sword of the Spirit, and the Shield of Faith. But in order to have a more complete understanding of how the Armor of God works together in the life of a Christian, we must gain some understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit. So in the next chapter, I will attempt to explain the unexplainable-the working of the Spirit-and I am trusting that this very same Holy Spirit will guide me in this endeavor.