2/25/16 Boris early 20's
Can we decide to have faith? Doesn’t it take faith to make that decision? What came first, the chicken or the egg?
At a train station a college exchange student from France named Boris was very philosophical in his approach to religion. In the end, he calls himself an agnostic because he says he simply doesn’t have faith to believe in God or any kind of afterlife.
How do we as believers explain “faith” to someone who doesn’t have it? How can he move forward without it? I explained how it works for me. I told him that faith is like going to sleep – it doesn’t happen (usually) until we act on it. We feel tired, so we lay down, close our eyes, act like we are sleeping and pretty soon we are!
Much of our walk of faith with Jesus consists of taking the first steps based on a very small inkling, a "mustard seed" sized faith, and when we go forward in obedience we find that we really do believe, with a faith that grows stronger as we progress.
I've found it helpful to think of faith like a muscle. It may be weak at first, but when we begin to exercise it - to use what strength we do have - it begins to grow to the point that not only does it stand on it's own but as Jesus said, "with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade." I understand this to mean that as our faith grows it not only benefits ourselves but others as well.
The Bible says that faith comes through hearing God’s word, so I hoped to help Boran take these initial steps of obedience that build faith by going on to clearly explain the Gospel, but unfortunately it was getting late and he had a train to catch. So I gave him a gospel book to read instead.
Even though he is an agnostic, I hope I helped encourage Boris enough to take the small step of faith to at least read the book, so that he might consider God’s truths and move forward by an even stronger faith.
At a train station a college exchange student from France named Boris was very philosophical in his approach to religion. In the end, he calls himself an agnostic because he says he simply doesn’t have faith to believe in God or any kind of afterlife.
How do we as believers explain “faith” to someone who doesn’t have it? How can he move forward without it? I explained how it works for me. I told him that faith is like going to sleep – it doesn’t happen (usually) until we act on it. We feel tired, so we lay down, close our eyes, act like we are sleeping and pretty soon we are!
Much of our walk of faith with Jesus consists of taking the first steps based on a very small inkling, a "mustard seed" sized faith, and when we go forward in obedience we find that we really do believe, with a faith that grows stronger as we progress.
I've found it helpful to think of faith like a muscle. It may be weak at first, but when we begin to exercise it - to use what strength we do have - it begins to grow to the point that not only does it stand on it's own but as Jesus said, "with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade." I understand this to mean that as our faith grows it not only benefits ourselves but others as well.
The Bible says that faith comes through hearing God’s word, so I hoped to help Boran take these initial steps of obedience that build faith by going on to clearly explain the Gospel, but unfortunately it was getting late and he had a train to catch. So I gave him a gospel book to read instead.
Even though he is an agnostic, I hope I helped encourage Boris enough to take the small step of faith to at least read the book, so that he might consider God’s truths and move forward by an even stronger faith.
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