“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

All too often, faith is defined as the ability to believe the unbelievable.  I have heard good, well-meaning Christians assert that the real test of faith is to lay reason aside and to embrace utter credulity.  Like the Red Queen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, they boast of believing six impossible things before breakfast.

According to this view, ‘believing in’ miracles like the virgin birth, walking on water, parting the Red Sea, raising the dead, and multiplying loaves and fishes are the essence of faith – precisely because they contradict nature and reason.  For some, faith is the ability to defy our senses, our experience, and our common sense. 

I think that’s why people who espouse this kind of faith sometimes sound like they are bragging.  They sound like your friend from CrossFit, who does 300 sit-ups a day even when he has the flu.  People who make belief in the miraculous a test of faith seem to be telling us that they can bench press the virgin birth and curl the calming of the sea while standing on one leg, whistling Amazing Grace.

If you’re at all like me, when you encounter these feats of religious prowess you might feel like the 97- pound weakling invited to a body-building club.  I used to feel that way too, but no longer.

I think all that heavy lifting of things that defy reason is not the measure of faith; it’s not a sign of being a superlative spiritual athlete.

I think it is far more important to cling to the hope that broken lives can be mended than it is to believe that once upon a time Jesus healed someone.

I think it’s more important to have the courage to start over than it is to believe that Jesus called Lazarus out of a tomb.

I think faith is the persistent hope that justice and peace are worth pursuing, even when corruption and violence seem to be winning.

I think faith is the trust that humbly striving to be kind and attentive to the needs of others is success, even though it doesn’t lead to the corner office or the position of power.

I think faith is having a changed perspective that acts as though love is triumphant and that none of the powers of death or evil can ultimately defeat love in action.

Faith is the confidence, born of hope, that our frail and faltering struggles to live like Christ are not wasted.  Faith is the assurance that God is at work in the world and in us.  Faith is what keeps us running before the finish line is in sight.

Prayer:  Almighty God, work a miracle in me today; help me take another step in the dark.  Amen.