“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”  (Martin Luther’s explanation of the third article of the Apostle’s Creed)

“And I long ago concluded something else, too. The first few years we were there, the children were still little, and our problems with them, like theirs with us, seemed little too. They were healthy and happy, and so were we. Like everybody else they had their troubles at school, but basically they liked it well enough. They had their friends, and we had our friends, but the richest part of our lives seemed to be the part we had together—the picnics by the gentian pond, the sledding in winter, the summer trips. We were a world very much to ourselves up there on our mountain, and by and large all was well with us. But down below there was another world where, by and large, all was not well. Friends got sick and died there. Accidents happened to people we knew. What I concluded then—less in a way to mar our peace than to deepen my sense of it—was that the day would come when the wild waves would wet us too, and the winds would lash us, and the great beast browsing its way up from below would raise its head and notice us at last. I concluded that even in Paradise, maybe especially in Paradise, the dark times come. (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

Faith is an important aspect of a believer’s life – no matter what it is they believe. Some see faith as their own work – as something they achieve through their reading, experiences, and their knowledge. As Lutheran’s, we believe that faith is a gift, just like Grace is a gift. Faith comes to us through means, the means of the Gospel read and preached, the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism, and one more element – that of the Holy Spirit.  It is through the Holy Spirit that, using the means of Word and Sacrament, faith builds in a person’s life. The gift of faith, then, is first of all a gift – and second is seen through the eyes of trust – trusting that through these means the Holy Spirit will do its work on our hearts and in our lives. 

We can say that all believers possess faith in some measure if they do see themselves as followers: Christians following Christ, Buddhists following Buddha, etc.  And because faith is one of the gifts of the Spirit bestowed on all who come to Christ in faith (Galatians 5:22-23), then the faith of a follower should show forth in how they live, how they treat others, and how they make important decisions in their lives.

As Frederick Buechner grew older, he found that life began to take away those whom he loved and cherished as the days and years marched onward. None of us can run from the darkness of life eventually enveloping us as well. But the spiritual gift of faith that comes to us as the Holy Spirit works in our lives allows us to continue to march forward, even in the midst of sadness and loss. Ultimately, strong faith gives us the confidence and trust in G-d that all will be brought to conclusion when the Kingdom of G-d comes to transform the entire earth.

Pastor Dave