Faith

or more thoughts on perspective

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 2:14-17 (esv translation)

Karla and I have been receiving some very meaningful encouragements from some of you mentioning how our faith has been evident throughout this hard time. We appreciate those comments and given them, I thought it would be good to articulate, or at least try to explain, what this faith thing is. And trust me, we are far from having this figured out. Most days feel like we are just getting by. Our faith is anchored and we're tied to that anchor, but we are constantly been buffeted by the wind. I'm thankful that the rope is strong and that I didn't tie it.

To me, faith is active belief or, put another way, motivating belief. For us that motivating belief is in God. To put it further, it is a gift from God through Jesus Christ and the working power of the Holy Spirit. I will be the first to admit that apart from this we would not have the strength or hope to get through this trying time. This gift of faith gives us hope which is manifest in love. So when we say that we have faith in God, not only does it give us the strength and hope to go on, but even better, it defines and motivates how we go on.

I think that one of the points James is trying to make in the above passage is that faith is shown in actions that align with words. (There is more to the passage. You would do good to read the rest. Actions reveal ones heart; they are responsive.) You know the expression, "Talk is cheap." I don't think I would take it that far. Words are good and necessary, but if your words aren't matched by your actions your credibility will, and should be, called in to question. Jesus called this type, "White-washed tombs."(Matthew 23:27) Of course we aren't perfect. In our case we have many doubts, experience sadness and anger and fear and uncertainty...the list goes on. But we also have so many examples of God blessing and providing for us. Our faith is not blind!(Karla does sometimes call me blindly optimistic. I think that's just typical pessimist or cynicism speak, but that's another discussion...sort of) We have been continually blessed by all of you and have seen many answers to prayer during this time. Our hope is not pie-in-the-sky. I can't begin to express how much God gives us and how He equips us day to day to day.

So we pray that our response - words and actions - is full of thankfulness and praise to Him. We pray that no matter what, God is glorified through little Drew. And we pray that you are thankful with us as you continue to give us support.



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Note: I wrote this post yesterday and hadn't published it yet because I didn't want to overwhelm the blog with posts. In the spirit of being transparent - My cheeks are stained with tears right now. We are emotionally and physically strained by this. As I talked about in an earlier email, this is a roller coaster ride. I'm not happy that my son is experiencing these challenges. Newborn babies should not have to suffer. But despite my feelings right now, what I wrote above still stands.