What is faith?
The definition of faith seems universal to all religions. It is about believing in God and trusting Him without any speck of doubt. This is very difficult to achieve yet faith is very powerful. And as they say, faith can move mountains.
Faith is like not questioning God’s existence. If you have faith in something, you don’t cast doubt on it. You completely trust it. Just like if you have a goal with you, and if you believe that you can achieve it, then, you will surely be able to achieve that goal ‘without any doubt’.
What do we mean by ‘without any doubt’?
A good example of this is in cartoon animation. There are scenes wherein a character is being chased by a monster. The character, unfortunately, is approaching a cliff without realizing it. It then went beyond the cliff but amazingly, the character did not fall as if there was still an imaginary solid ground that keeps the character afloat. It never fell because it still believes that it is standing on solid ground. However, it then realized, when it looked down, it is no longer standing on solid ground anymore. By that instance, doubt sets in. The belief that it will fall, actually causes it to fall. Typically some characters, when they are able to realize their situation, are able to grab on the edge of the cliff or run back. If it was still staying there, and it believed that he is still standing on solid ground, he wouldn’t fall, right?
Faith itself is still a mindset, because, what you think, then you believe. Once you believe, it will manifest in your actions.
Let us go back to the case of miracles as caused by faith. For example, if you are healing a sick individual through ‘laying on of hands1’, do you really believe that you can heal him? If you do believe that you can heal him, then he will be cured. However, if when you are laying your hands on that sick person, and you are having doubts, you are even asking yourself, “am I really able to cure his disease?”, by asking that question alone, it already signifies that you are in doubt. That you are doubtful of your actions. You are doubting your capabilities to heal that person. With faith in you, you will be able to heal and perform other miracles. However, complete healing can only be done if the person you are healing also believes that he will be healed.
We have been told several times by our pastors, priests, or church leaders, that faith is believing without question. But when we have heard that, did it really sink in? Imagine the possibilities of being “faithful”. It is not about faithful in religious practices. It is about faith as a mindset. Faith as doubtless belief.
It was when I was in high school that I was able to realize what faith really is. I came from a Catholic school wherein every first Friday of the month, we have to celebrate mass. I remember the days when my friends and I have to hide and lock our classrooms just to escape from attending the Eucharistic celebration. There was one time when we had to celebrate mass in an open field. It was in a basketball court. In the middle of the celebration, when the priest was offering the bread and wine, the sky began to dim and heavy clouds started to hover. Then it started to shower but not strong enough to make us wet. It was some minor drizzle signaling a heavy rain is going to fall. However, while I was looking up at the sky, deep inside, I was talking to God telling him “Hey! This is your party! Do you really want us to get wet? Do you really want us to stop this Eucharistic celebration? Yeah, I know you are just teasing us. You don’t really want the rain to fall at this time. Of course, you don’t want your celebration to be ruined, right?” Deep down inside, I believed that it would not rain. And it did not. The rain only fell after the Mass and when everybody was already inside their respective classrooms. It was then, that I realized what faith really is. It is not about going to church every Sunday. It is not about doing it by the book. It is not about obliging meticulously on one’s religious duties. It is about an unquestioning belief.
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