Risky Faith

Risky Faith

Hebrews 11:1-8

I have been thinking about faith this week. I started thinking about people, that I know that have faith.

The first group that comes to mind are the ones that I have sat with at the hospital. The ones that say, “I’m Ready!” Their only question is why do I have to hurt and wait.

I wish God blessed me with an answer that would really help the soul.

The Next group that comes to mind are the ones that buy Lottery tickets… Not the ones that buy one every now and them.. when the pot is 100 million. I am thinking of the ones that buy every week and some everyday.

They must have faith that the contest is real. They must think that they have a fair chance of winning. So every week they go to the Quick Mart and put down 1 to 20 bucks to buy their chance at being rich.

I am not sure that is faith.. perhaps hope or maybe just bad math skills.

Then I thought back to when the kids were younger. I was in the pool and one of the kids on the edge yelling “daddy catch me.” I say Ok, Jump!

There were two reactions that my children gave: They jumped immediately or the child says back up you are too close. When they are ready they run and leap like superman without a cape. They normally had a smile on their faces and uttered a screaming sound. Sometimes eyes wide open others closed tightly making a squinched up face. Either way they were reaching out with their arms to latch onto me for deal life. Sometimes they hardly got wet because they landed on my head.

The burses have faded but, I think I still have scars from the fingernails to prove this happened.

When they jumped they were expressing their faith that Daddy would catch them.

Faith is something that you can’t touch but, you feel it and I believe it is deeper and more protected than hope.

Faith it self is invisible however, it ends up being one of the most visible emotions. Faith is what lets you drive across a high bridge even when you have fear of heights. It lets you do other things, trusting in things beyond your control.

Faith is also the emotion that allows you to make plans for the weekend or next week or next year, perhaps even further into the future. Faith leads some people to dream of what the future will be like.

Most of us have enough faith to make plans for our future. We make plans to go on trips and vacations. We have faith (not just a hope) that we will get older and have needs for savings and a home.

It seems that none of us want to take a leap into the pool without a plan for getting out of the water.

Faith fuels the inner drive for vision and every person, family and church need to have a vision for the future.

The church sometimes suffers because people are afraid to share visions for the church family. Some fear sharing a vision because they are afraid of the reactions from family and friends. They fear being judged because they think that God whispered an idea in their ears.

The church needs vision casters, people who listen for God’s vision and attempt to follow and lead others on God’s path. Sometimes that person is the pastor but, normally God places the vision on more that one person within a church so that the seeds of faith can take root and fid nourishment.

The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet high and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these animals can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall.

A church that has no vision and no plan is stagnant. If the only worry is how to face tomorrow or next week and there is no vision for next year and the next 5 years or what will the church be line when we are gone, then we have no real faith.

It does not take much of a wall or series of problems to make any church react like the impala, trapped in a single enclosure instead of being free in the world.

Jesus was the ultimate vision caster. I want you to listen to some of the visionary statements made by Jesus.

“Lift up your eyes! The fields are white unto harvest.”

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move this mountain.”

“Go into all the world and make disciples.”