FAITH,
A GIFT OF GOD
Faith is a gift of God, and is
divine. Faith is a law of God, and to have it we must subject ourselves to His
love. Faith in law tends to unify mankind into one harmonious whole. To trust
in personality is something else concrete tends to soul laziness. Consequently
the lazy minded man finds it much easier to pin his belief in some material
substance or strong personality rather than to search the truth through law.
“Faith cometh from above, from God.” (IIHermas 9:9)
There are different qualities of
faith: first, and intuitional type or one of sudden conviction; second, the
natural type, or one of a slow hesitating, and investigating nature.
Faith may mean to some the power
to look within the veil, or to others a mere inkling of the order of the
universe. Faith is man’s interpretation of law; and law in turn is the orderly
operation of God’s power. There is the spiritual faith of a Nathaniel and on
the other extreme is that materialistic faith of Thomas. One is the credulous,
intuitive, sudden, overwhelming assurance of Nathaniel in juxtaposition to the
slow, hesitating, skeptical, phlegmatic, apathetic, investing nature of Thomas.
Thomas, seeing, believed which caused Jesus’ expression, “Thomas, because thou
hast seen Me, thou has believed; blessed are they that have not seen and yet
have believed.” One is an intuitional perception while the other was perceived
by the physical senses only. The one was the indwelling of the Infinite Spirit;
on the other hand was perception after interaction on Thomas’ mind through his
sense of sight. These two types of faith are excellent portrayals of the larger
types of mankind; and accordingly as one or the other predominates so will the
civilization of any period be spiritual or materialistic.
Our educational standards are,
what does he know? Society inquiries, what can he do? And God asks, what does
he feel? Can a person still remain ignorant although crammed with knowledge?
The college-bred man may or may not be intelligent. Intelligence means power,
character, training for real life. Faith is to perceive and feel truth. Real
joy or bliss is not obtainable except by endless opportunity for exercising the
means of obtaining ultimate truth. The ultimate goal of faith is the conforming
of our lives to the new ideal. Power rightly directed is the realization of the
pinnacle of faith. Too often, however, an utterly selfish object inseparably
connected with a noble desire for power, which may be efficient in a material
sense; however, may react in a negative way in the moral right. The reaction is
the cruel realization of the base senses of man exemplified in the maxim known
as “might makes right.” This misapplication of power is too often given as a
motive in material rewards, such as riches, position, power, fame, et cetera.
Our faith in the Lord must be
proven by our conduct and our willingness to obey each and every commandment
coming from Him. Not only is our faith shown by our obedience to His laws, but
our disbelief is shown by our disobedience to Him. This is proven by I John
2:4:
. . . And hereby we do know that
we know Him if we keep His commandments He that saith I know him, and keepeth
not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.”
Thus we see that our faith hinges
on our conduct and our readiness to obey all the commandments which the Lord
has given us.
Faith is a grasping power of the
soul by which it reaches out and finds the truth. We can reach God’s perfection
only by doing His works. Faith is a cause leading to the effect which I shall
call knowledge. Knowledge or understanding is not necessarily wisdom or true
intelligence. The application of knowledge our known facts, lead to the higher
evolution of man making him wise.
Knowledge is to wisdom what belief
is to faith. Understanding a thing without the exercise thereof is like a
belief without faith. Paul states in [1] Cor. 13:12, “For now we see through a
glass darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know
even as also I am known.” (Arch S. Reynolds, Our Spirit World and Faith: A
Propelling Power [Springville, Utah: Self-published, 1952], 55-57)
