Trust in God September 7, 2008
Posted by Stewart in All posts.Tags: anxiety, despair, faith, fear, theology, trust
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“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day; nor for the pestilence that walks in the darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes by noonday.” – Psalm 91: 4-6
“Blessed is the person that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spread out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be care-worn in the year of drought, neither shall it cease from yielding fruit.” – Jeremiah 17: 7-10
Why do we worry and why do we fear? We often fall to anxiety, to a sense of hopelessness and discouragement, compounding itself into despair. In such times of disheartenment and despondency, we are reminded by Christ not to worry and not to despair (Matthew 6: 25-34), but rather, to trust in God and in his divine will. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not onto your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5-6)
Trust in God entails the abandonment of all fear, for it is the humbling acknowledgment of God’s will, and the recognition that human capacity and ability is finite and limited and that we cannot arrive at all answers by our own merits and understandings. Trust in God is the acknowledgment that from God all things come and to God all things must return. All shall return to the Creator, regardless of whether the return journey is accepted with happiness or not. Trust in God is the acknowledgment that to God belongs all glory and the proclamation that may all things be as He intends in His divine design.
Throughout the Gospels Jesus emphasizes that his apostles cast out all fear and that they place their total trust in God. He asks, “Why are you fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). We are told by Christ not to fear, especially not to fear human forces, declaring that “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” (Matthew 10: 28) Jesus advises us not to be troubled, not to fear the world for he has himself has overcome the entire world (John 16:33) in his Resurrection and he states: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
A striking illustration of devotion August 25, 2008
Posted by Stewart in All posts.Tags: devotion, faith, intentions
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Returning from Deakin University’s Open Day, Ashleigh and myself came upon to Flinders St station from where we would return home. Ascending those iconic stairs, now so intrinsic to the culture of Melbourne, there stood an elderly lady giving away free literature – a book entitled Steps to Christ by Ellen G. White. I contemplated for a moment on this, a striking illustration of a woman’s devotion to her faith. She appeared frail in her old age, yet her faith was not frail, nor did it wither, but was vibrant in her keen eyes.
I’ve recently been contemplating the meaning behind John 10:10 and now it seems clearer to me – this woman is living abundantly. She is living abundantly not because of any extravagant items that she may possess, but simply because of her passion- the very reason why she was standing alone on a wintry day exercising her beliefs. She is living abundantly because the wintry wind she suffers gladly, for it is for a worthy purpose. She is living abundantly because, at that particular moment, she is not focused on temporal wealth of self-attention, but rather, on something more, something of eternal wealth – the grasping of truth.
I admire this lady’s immense courage. It may seem simple, but it is not the magnitude of her actions, but rather the intention behind them (as Mother Teresa would say). Of course, I do not claim the authority to judge the intentions of her heart, but to me her actions appeared to be a demonstration of faith and devotion.
The Integration of Faith and Life August 13, 2008
Posted by Stewart in All posts.Tags: faith, integrity, life
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What we believe we must seek to integrate into our daily lives, so that our beliefs are reflected in our behaviour and conduct. It is the integration of our innermost intentions and principles with our outward actions and responses – the crux of integrity. This is reflected in the Christian Writings which remark, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20) The meaning behind this phrase suggests that unless our principles are reflected in our actions then they are not principles that we hold or maintain.
In his editorial, Political Debate between Catholic Christians , Deacon Keith Fournier directs this notion of integrity towards Christians, writing that:
“We are called to manifest the continued presence of the Risen Lord in every age. He, in His Sacred humanity, showed us how to live. I could go on at length on the implications of this, but the point is that no matter what arena we find ourselves in, including political debate, we do not take off our Catholic Christian faith as though it is a cloak we wear only at Mass.”
Fournier emphasizes an important point. If we are to be truly faithful, indeed to maintain integrity, we cannot choose when we wish to present Christian principles, and neither can we merely reserve these principles in a single sphere, but rather, they must permeate throughout our lives. The Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes notes that “This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.” In other words, as Fournier notes, we cannot merely wear Christianity as a badge or a cloak worn only at Mass. There is a reason why Mass ends with the words, “Let us go forth to love and serve Lord.” The implication here is of course that “the Mass never ends” and that we must “go forth” to the world and live these principles.
The risk of merely reserving our principles to a single sphere or aspect of life, such as religion, is that we may engage in what theologian Dallas Willard calls “consumer Christianity”, which is quite simply consuming the merits and principles of Christ without their integration into our daily lives. God did not enter into the world merely to shake our faith, but also, to shake the foundation of our very lives. He came not so that we may just have a renewed faith, but that we “may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
On a personal note, I admit that I struggle with integrity. Quite often my outward actions do not correspond to the principles I claim to uphold, and in that way, I feel like a fraud. If I were to appear saintly in the eyes of humans, that does not mean that I am saintly before God. For only He can judge the content of my heart and weigh it with accuracy. I pray for the integrity to have my inner principles correspond with my outward actions.
