“Faith and doubt both are needed - not as antagonists,
but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve”.
Lillian Smith
YES, we can only live our life by faith. To me, it’s
unfeasible to pull faith away from any decision we make in our lives. In
essence, every choice, or any resolutions we make are because we believe; we
have faith in something or someone, or simply because of mistrust and
disbelief.
Belief
is a heartfelt acceptance of (and trust in) a set of philosophies and principles.
Faith is the manifestation of that belief. To put it another way, faith is
belief in action.
At the heart of
anyone’s life lies the question and struggle on the importance of faith.
Look at it this way: You
hear atheists say, “I don’t believe in God” and on the other hand you hear
Christians profess, “I believe in God and the afterlife.” While we like to
debate against each other, depending on which side we stand, we fail to realize
that in either statement the core of it is belief and to believe is to have
faith.
I have come to realize
that before I can stand for (or against) anything or anyone, before I can make
decisions on any given situations, I have to believe. I have to believe
strongly, especially if all odds are going against the grain.
We make the mistake of
thinking that all things concerning “faith” are spiritual and religion-based,
while in reality “faith” is just the strong belief in something/one. It is the
aptitude to wait patiently on an outcome. You can apply faith to anything in
your life, in the same token you can envision, manifest anything in your life
through faith. To completely believe in something that hasn't occurred yet or
that you haven’t seen or experienced is having faith. Why we choose to blindly
believe, with no need of proof, is where the argument should lay, not in
whether or not we have faith. From the moment we choose to believe we already
have faith whether we like it or not, whether we realize it or not…so, if
belief is present in your life so is faith!
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1
Faith by definition is illogical; it
basically means to believe in something without any form of tangible proof. To
have faith is not to adhere to a life of uncertainty, but one of strong
convictions. To live in faith is to rely completely on your hopes and believes
and that’s where I have (at times) an issue with faith. Faith to me becomes a
problem when we rely solely on it and disregard any common sense or logic.
Religion vs. Faith… is there a difference
or is it one in the same?
Again I say, YES! While the 2 are often viewed
and spoken about as one in the same, they are 2 different notions. However, it
is also true that without faith, religion is nearly an impossible concept as it
is based on little fact but on the other hand faith doesn't require religion to
stand on its own.
Believing and having faith in something doesn't guarantee that you are right and can’t be deemed wrong, however the big
difference with religion is that your faith in it requires the belief and
certitude (without being proven) that it can’t be wrong!
I.e.: We have faith in the loyalty of our
spouse, we have faith in the goodness of mankind, we have faith in the school
system, and we have faith in the
system. However, time gives you the opportunity to change, fine-tune or
substantiate your beliefs. Religion doesn't allow you to do so. It asks you to
have faith, regardless of what evidence may come up to challenge it… Either you
have a blind and binding faith in it or you don’t!
Why is it that people worry about if, where and how much time you spend in
church or cultivating your faith? My failure to go into the house of God to praise Him has no bearing on my faith in Him. I
go to church when my life’s schedule allows me to go but as I spoke about it
previously, does that determine the depth of my faith in my religion? I pray
quietly, sincerely when I need to and when I’m drawn to Him…
I have a great and liberating faith in God;
I know that because (and through) him
I am granted each day in the life I’m living. I thank Him everyday for my blessings, humbled by the gifts he’s bestowed
on me and above all, I’m in gratitude for his daily forgiveness.
To me, the biggest
difference between religion and faith is that religion (with its written
doctrine) will inform you of what you are to believe but faith is an actual
deep knowing that you trust in your own belief in God. Faith and religion
compliment each other, but are not the same. Faith is the belief that
everything will work out the way you hope for, and religion is a structural
entity to guide you in the practice of your faith
Can you live your life with no faith?
RosieSandz
PHOTO: MAGGIE LOCHTENBERG
