What is Your Faith?

I wanted to talk for a little bit about faith. This is not a discussion from a religious standpoint, even thought faith and belief are terms often used in a religious context. This is about what my definition of faith is, with some prompting about where your faith comes from and what it is.

My definition of faith is “a conviction in something without being able to provide irrefutable evidence that can support that conviction”. This conviction is something that you have arrived at through the experiences of your life. This faith has been tested by your life experiences. You have had to hold that conviction up to the light of your truth as you perceive it. You have had to decide whether your life experiences coincide with your faith. You have had to piece together that faith from your own experiences. You have had examine your faith like a Rubik’s cube; twisting and turning it from every direction to see what the secret is. Your faith should be something that your life’s beliefs are based upon.

Langeek.co defines the difference between faith and belief, “Both refer to how we perceive something. However, 'faith' refers to trusting someone/something from the depth of our hearts. It is not necessarily based on any proof. 'Belief', on the other hand, refers to something that we consider to be true”.

With the death of our two children, Beth and I had to each scrutinize our own individual faith. How did we perceive that something like this could happen? What did it truly mean to each of us and how would it affect our path forward from that loss? I love Beth’s description of faith, “It is a card that we carry in our back pocket, but few people ever have to take that card out and look at it.”

Where did your faith come from? Was it handed to you from your parents or presented to you from a book? Has your faith ever been truly tested? It is unfortunate that some people never really examined their faith until their life is almost over. It is like planning a long trip by boat, showing up at the dock with all of your travelling belongings without ever having checked the boat to make sure it is seaworthy.

I do not wish life experiences upon anyone that would cause them to have to severely scrutinize their faith. But on the other hand, if you haven’t had to examine your faith in the light of adversity, how do you know if it is really your faith?