Faith Untamed
Conquering kingdoms, shutting lions mouths, receiving back those that were dead, enduring hardships, torture, and martyrdom–all these things together do not paint the picture of modern Christianity.
This week marks the beginning of a three part blog entitled: Faith Untamed, Grace Unleashed, and Christianity Unfurled. Lately I have been finding my self drawn to the 11th chapter of Hebrews, long referred to as the Hall of Faith. Jesus spoke often of faith; one such occasion was in Matthew 17:10 where He says,
“Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
I remember the first time that I heard this passage preached. The pastor spent a good deal of time trying to make this a metaphor for life and the trials that we all go through–that the mountains that Jesus was talking about were metaphorical mountains, not real ones. The logic behind it was that no one can really move a mountain because that is just silly. When I look at this passage, I see mountain and I need to ask what Jesus meant. I could speculate, or I could go back to the original Greek and look to see. In this case, the Greek word Oros is the word Jesus used. It means a mountain or lifting above the plain. Jesus said mountain and in this context He meant mountain. In our safe, normal, nothing supernatural ever happens western world mind set, the idea of rearranging landscapes with out heavy equipment is outrageous.
When reading the 11th chapter of Hebrews, most love to focus on the guys and gals that lived faith and adventure filled lives: Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Caleb and the rest. But I would hazard a guess that anyone on that list would point to the end of the chapter as their favorite part. In verses 33 through 40, we see the real pathway of faith.
“who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”
Conquering kingdoms, shutting lions mouths, receiving back those that were dead, enduring hardships, torture, and martyrdom–all these things together do not paint the picture of modern Christianity. In the western world mindset, Christianity is all about having the right church to go to and making sure it has all the things that you need to make your life more comfortable. We worry about the color of the carpet and take offence if the Pastor does not acknowledge me for the work I did the past week for the church. Modern Christianity is so far from Biblical Christianity that it is like comparing apples and oranges. We have professionalized the ministry and corporatized the church so that it is just another business, with success markers and “corporate ladders” to climb. I have met a number of ministers that actually got saved after they had been in the ministry for a few years. Where is the faith-filled, Holy Ghost lead, hard core Christians that would be the first in line to give their lives for the cause of Christ? Where are the “Men of whom the world was not worthy”? Or better yet, how can I become a man that “the world was not worthy” of?
There is a cost of unleashing faith into our lives. Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 11:25-27:
“Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was (stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”
What we know of faith in the New Testament is largely from Paul. Not just his writing, but from his life as well. We see faith in the Lord Jesus, and what can come of a life filled by faith.
Sometimes it is easy to play armchair Christian and point out all the problems that other people have, but it is not so easy to apply the same lens to ourselves. I will be the first one to admit that my life is not filled with enough faith. I struggle unleashing true and utter faith into my life. Giving up control and letting God lead me where He will is sometimes a scary thing. But at the same time, I long to have the faith experiences that are mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews.
I have come to the conclusion that for me giving myself completely heart, mind, and body to my Lord and King to spend me how He chooses is my only real option. My encouragement this week is to pray for the opportunity to unleash some faith in your lives.
