as christians our lives are shaped by how we read the bible. this is good if we read it as it was intended; it is bad if we read it as it was not intended. for example, consider hebrews 11:1 ..."now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." this passage is a classic text for the belief that for faith to be real, it must be blind. in other words, how can you have faith if you are certain about the object of your faith? for many, faith by its very nature is uncertain.
we talk about faith in jesus and say, "you just have to believe it even when it doesn't make sense." "if you had all of the answers, it would not be faith." and so on ... does this mean that those who actually walked and talked with jesus did not have faith because they were too certain of who he was, because jesus gave them the answers?
i don't think so ... one reason people end up thinking this way is that they confuse how the word "faith" is used in american culture with "faith" as it is used in the bible.
faith in our culture is about believing something when everything you feel and know says you should not believe it. biblical faith, however, is different. it has 3 components: 1) understanding the content of the christian faith, 2) trust and 3) mental acceptance of a truth. what this means is that biblical faith involves placing trust in what you have reason to believe is true.
faith is not a blind, irrational leap into the dark. faith is, as the bible says, "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." for you to be "sure" and "certain," your faith must be based on the understanding and personal experience of jesus and his mission.
when someone says that you "need more faith," they are saying that you must close your eyes and ignore the circumstances. when jesus says that you "need more faith," he is saying that you must open your eyes and see him in the circumstances.
the more we see him at work in our lives, the more we will see our faith shape our lives.
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