What is faith?
(An exploration in 3 parts)
What is faith?
Part 1: A verb, not a noun, active and purposeful
It is a way of looking at the world, of understanding reality, of understanding yourself and all your relationships – with other people, but also your inner relationship with yourself. It is a set of values, principles and goals to live by, a way of governing all that you do.
It is a source of strength and inspiration. In addition to all the usual – but still awesome – resources of mind and heart and body with which human beings are equipped, it is an additional resource, like having an additional gear, or, in times of need, a turbo-charge button that gives a mysterious extra source of strength that the normal physical world would not justify us having.
It is a relationship. A relationship with someone who is other, other, but more intimate than our own thoughts and feelings, someone who is discovered and met, not created or controlled, someone who has a will and a character, and, for unfathomable reasons, this other person loves you to the uttermost, and always will.
It is a shared understanding and commitment with other people who also have this faith, and so who form a community. It is something instantly recognised and acknowledged with the merest nod of the head and of the open heart: “You too”. It is a secret that is shouted abroad, but still a secret to those who don’t have it, incomprehensible, baffling, foolish, but for those who have the secret – or, who rather, acknowledge the truth of the secret – it is the most obvious thing in the world, and, like members of a secret society who understand the signs, just a look or a word are enough: “You know him too; you love him too”.
It is something that is nothing, in that there is nothing to see or touch, but it is everything to those who have it. Yet it is nothing – until the person speaks what is in their heart, or acts in ways that surprise, disturb and delight. “Why did she do that? There was no reason for it. Nothing in our normal understanding of how the world works prepared me for that”. And it is disturbing, but if you look and ponder, it is delightful, for faith produces extraordinary acts of gracious love. Too often, faith is translated into ideas in the mind that are agreed to, but really, faith is a new and additional source of love.
Spiritual Devotion 