Faith: Leap & Light

"Only in the leap from the lion's head will he prove his worth." Remember the tense sequence from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in which Indy has to leap out into thin air to try and cross an enormous chasm? It's the classic Leap of Faith. It's a picture that we often associate with the idea of faith, especially faith in God. We're jumping into the unknown and we're not sure if we're going to fall forever.

My dad used to use a different kind of example back in Wawa when he preached on this topic. He asked one of the kids to go to the back of the sanctuary and flip one of the main light switches. Before the kid did it, my dad asked if the light would be turned off because of the switch. The kid, of course, knew that the lights would go out and he was proven to be quite correct as we lost all light for a few seconds.

So here we have two competing images of faith. One is a near-mystical and doubt-filled step and the other is a basic part of every day life. Both represent ideas that people have about what the word "faith" means but I would suggest that the second version is more accurate.

We need faith for all kinds of things. We need faith to belive that Jesus died for us and that God has forgiven us. We need faith in figuring out what to do with the big decisions in life: dating, work, where to live, etc. We need faith during the tough times in life, to know that people love us and that God cares for us. We need faith to believe that our cars won't veer off the road suddenly.

Faith is important but it doesn't have to feel like weird spritual mumbo-jumbo. Do we have faith that the light switch will turn the light on and off? Of course. Do we have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow? Sure. Do we have faith that our families love us? I hope we do.

In Luke 7, we see a story in which a centurian in the Roman army asks Jesus to heal his valued servant. As Jesus approaches the house, the centurian comes out and says that he is unworthy of Jesus entering. Instead, he just wants Jesus to speak the words and the centurian knows that his servant will be healed.

As the centurian says, "I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

That's simple, everyday faith. The centurian knows that his orders will be followed and he knows that Jesus' words will likewise be fulfilled. In return, Jesus says, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

The main difference in these pictures is the reason that we take that step of faith. We have faith in a light switch because it's worked a hundred times before. The centurian had faith because he knew that Jesus has as much authority in the spiritual realm as he had in the physical realm. Iniana Jones...well, he stepped out because his dad was about to die if he didn't find the Holy Grail and heal him. Sometimes we're forced into a position of accepting God's word because we have no other choice, and it's only then that we see how faithful God is to us in return.

As I was discussing two weeks ago with my new co-workers, I have heard stories about pastors surviving from week to week with no guarantee of income or food. Yet God kept supplying for them and their families. After that kind of thing happens a few times, you might be more willing to have some faith but at first there is no precedance for that kind of thing. It can feel a lot like Indy's jump.

The thing is that our faith in these kinds of situations is not based on history and experience, it's based on our relationship with God. It's doesn't seem like such a big jump because we're sure that God is calling us from the other side of that chasm. It has to be because we love God and because we know that He loves us. It has to be because we have practised and tried to obey God before and we have learned to recognize His voice. It has to be about Him and it can't be about us or our friends or our families.

Yes, experience is crucial. Yes, logic is an important tool. Yes, analyzing and wrestling with issues is helpful. Our faith is not based solely on those things, though. It's based on our relationship with God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. With that as our foundation, we can rest assured that even if we miss the invisible bridge and we fall, God will be there to catch us.