Faith, in turn comes from the ability to see something that seems more real than reality itself. With that kind of vision you are willing to sacrifice personal comfort and even safety in the name of what you see. Our ability to see like that is fed by our willingness to exercise and grow our faith.
True vision, however, rarely comes from within because internal vision is often selfish and lacks perspective. King Saul allowed internal vision to overshadow the vision God had given him. It made his faith weak and, when he most needed it, his vision was not substantial enough to base his faith on. Without faith, courage was no where to be found in him. Internal vision is therefore flawed. True vision is a gift from external sources. With true vision you have something that builds faith.
So we can see where faith comes from and what it is for, but what does real faith look like? Is real faith always strong, courageous and unyielding to temptation and tribulation. No, that’s not real faith. That’s ideal faith -- the faith we build in our imaginations that becomes legends. There is a difference between ideal faith and real faith.
Real faith has many faces that we may not readily recognize... unless we look in a mirror. We see real faith flit by in sermons and personal Bible study. We know these faces in the back of our minds, but they seem to be peripheral to what we are really looking for. And what are we looking for? Real faith. Faith with skin on it. Faith we can identify in ourselves.
I’ve sought out a few of these casual acquaintances to ask them about their faith; to see it in its reality, its beauty...and its zits. In the coming weeks, I'll introduce them to you and share my conversations with them.
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