SR October 2015
17
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Chroniger
Alfred Station SDB Church, NY
President’s Page
The Faith Thing
Pastor Scott Hausrath
SDB Church
North Loup, NE
T
his morning, as I was sitting in the North Loup Cafe
getting ready to eat breakfast with some friends, one of
my neighbors asked if she could speak with me when I
had some time. After breakfast I went to talk with her,
and she said that she had a story to tell me.
She told me that she had never been a regular church-
goer, or a very spiritual person, but a few weeks ago she
had a vision that changed everything. In her vision, she
saw herself on her knees in a church, praying and asking
God to relieve some of the heavy burdens she was feeling.
When I asked her if He had done this, she said yes, God
had lifted those burdens from her. The thing she said that
struck me the most was that she finally understood “the
faith thing.” After many years of misunderstanding and
judging others for living a life of faith, she finally “got it”
when God just gave it to her.
What about you? Do you understand “the faith thing”?
Are you struggling, trying to “get” faith? Do you believe
that you need to do something in order to have the kind
of faith that every other Christian seems to have?
A typical dictionary definition of “faith” goes something
like this: “confidence or trust in a person or thing.” When
we talk about our Christian faith, we tend to focus on the
first part of this definition: confidence and trust. We focus
on trying to build a stronger trust in God. Perhaps this is
our reaction to an often-memorized Scripture passage,
Hebrews 11:6a, which states that,
without faith it is
impossible to please God.
We want to please God, so
we try to build up our faith in Him.
I'm wondering, however, if we might be going about this
backwards. What if we were to focus on the second part
of the definition, instead of the first part? Instead of
focusing on confidence and trust, what if we focused on
the person or thing that is the object of our confidence
and trust? If we “get” God, we won't need to “get” faith,
because I believe He will
give
us the faith we so desire.
A wonderful way to start getting God is to look to the
second part of that Hebrews passage. Hebrews 11:6b
says that,
because anyone who comes to Him must
believe that He exists and that He rewards those who
earnestly seek Him.
These are two truths that are foundational for our
connection with God. Of course we must first believe
that He exists; otherwise we’d be fools to pursue some-
thing/someone that is not there. Secondly, the fact that
God rewards those who earnestly seek Him is the invitation
we need to head out on our journey toward Him.
But take a closer look at the verse. It’s not calling us to
seek faith; it's calling us to seek God. That’s what I’m
talkin’ ‘bout! Scripture calls us not to religion about God,
but to relationship with God. May our goal be God, and
nothing less. Then, along with Himself, He will provide us
with everything else we need, including faith.
Would you like to talk more about this faith thing? I
encourage you to join us next year in Houghton, New
York, as we explore other facets of our Christian faith,
and as we dive into the subjects of family and education.
It will be a very rich week. Please join us, and add to the
richness.
SR
