“Missing the point?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, March 5, 2023
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 (Forward, p. 35) CEV p. 1175
Sadly, and rather importantly, many words in English have changed or lost their original meanings over time. For instance, ‘awful’ used to mean ‘full of awe’, a meaning that has now been taken up by the word ‘awesome’. And ‘stink’ used to mean simply ‘having an odour’, without designating that it was either good or bad. Now it is used exclusively to denote a bad or offensive smell.
The words ‘believe’ or ‘faith’ have also been subject to changing meanings or applications. People can be heard to say, “I believe that” or I have a faith”, both of which are referencing something by way of content, like a set of facts or a doctrine of some sort. But that is not the primary Biblical meaning of either word, and in fact, obscures what is the essential meaning of either one.
The essential Biblical meaning of those words, as evidenced in today’s passage from Romans, is that it is a belief in some person or thing, a trust or a dependence in that being. So it goes far beyond any intellectual or mental assent to some set of facts or ideas. It implies relying upon or trusting in or depending in or upon some person or thing. And, in the Biblical record it is almost always a faith or a reliance upon a person, namely God. And so, to have only a mental assent to some person or thing may be a dead end, a case of missing the point, if that is all there is, if there is no transition, no growth, no movement from the mental to the actual. It is often said that the biggest step in life, the biggest distance to cover, for many people is the distance from the head to the heart, the distance from the mental assent to the actual doing and embracing. The head, the mental or intellectual, is most necessary, and needs to be there. We need to think about, to examine, and yes, even to question, the elements of what we read or what we are told, but it cannot just stay there. The mental or intellectual will only take us so far—and after that, there needs to be a leap of faith into what is unknown. There will always be a gap between that the mental on one hand and the results of faith on the other—namely, an assurance of that faith, the things can only be known by experience or by doing, that is, by placing one’s trust in that person that is Christ. So let us, during this Lenten season, not only devote ourselves to knowing more about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but also trusting in Him and depending upon Him more fully. Not to do so, is to miss the entire point of ‘faith’. Amen.
Forward notes: “For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’” (verse 3).
“The Apostle Paul recognizes human fallibility, that people act in ways they’d rather not and fail to act in ways they ought to. Faith nonetheless connects one through Christ to God. On the other hand, the writer James claims that one’s faith is disclosed by one’s works. The rope of faith, then, is a tangled knot. You cannot earn grace, as it is gift, yet failure to exercise your faith diminishes grace.
“When my daughter was three or four years old, she would not jump into my arms like other children. Rather, I would get down on my knees, hold out my arms to her, and invite her to come for a hug. She would make her way over to me and gently lean into me.
“Faith is not knowledge of the brain, as in ‘I think God exists.’ Nor does faith consist of doing the right thing. Rather, faith is about leaning into God. Faith, you see, begins in the solar plexus, yet we consistently treat it as though it originates in the brain. Try leaning into God today, giving yourself to God, trusting in God, by faith in Christ.”
MOVING FORWARD: “How can you ‘lean into’ God today? Through prayer? Worship? Music? Art?”