Rotten Logs & Steel

[dave c]

A HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #120k Written 01DEC07 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

In The Footsteps Of Abraham: Part Seven—Rotten Logs & Steel

by dave c

He 11:11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore (NIV).

“Faith is clearly one of the most important concepts in the whole NT. Everywhere it is required and its importance insisted upon. Faith means abandoning all trust in one’s own resources. Faith means casting oneself unreservedly on the mercy of God. Faith means laying hold on the promises of God in Christ, relying entirely on the finished work of Christ for salvation, and on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God for daily strength. Faith implies complete reliance on God and full obedience to God.” [New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition; Tyndale House Publishers, USA, 1988, and Inter-Varsity Press, England; p 368.]

I can believe that a rotten log might get me across a bottomless chasm, but no amount of faith in it, per se, will increase the likelihood of my making it safely to the other side. On the other hand, it takes very little faith to cross safely if I’m presented with a steel and concrete bridge. Christ tells us, "...truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you" (Mt 17:20; NAS); and again, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you" (Lu 17:6; NAS). It is understood that Jesus is referring to faith in the One True God as expressed in the above paragraph. The issue, then, is not so much the amount of faith I might be exercising; rather it is upon what, or whom, am I placing that faith?

Don’t get me wrong. If God tells you to trust the rotten log, you can trust it to deliver you to the opposite side just as if it was made out of steel and concrete. This is because your actual belief, your faith, and your trust is in the Lord—not in the log as an object, or thing; not in your opinion or in the opinions of others; and certainly not because you simply desire safe passage. Six times in the NT, Jesus tells the impaired “Your faith has healed you…” (Mt 9:22; Mk 5:34, 10:52; Lu 8:48, 17:19, 18:42); and once He tells the woman at the house of Simon, “Your faith has saved you…” (Lu 8:50). Do we believe the Savior was saying that faith, in and of itself, can heal—or even save—you? Or, is the phrase an idiom used much like a judge of today when he informs the accused before his bench, “Telling the truth has freed you”. It is understood that it is actually the judge who is making the decision, it is the judge who is setting the prisoner free. That he was told the truth is the reason, or the explanation, of why the accused was to be released. It is the same with these examples from Scripture. Jesus was saying, “Because of your faith, God has healed you”… “Because of your faith, God has saved you”.

Problems of faith arise in two forms. 1) I place my faith in the rotten logs of false religions, resources, position, talent, or intellect. 2) I place my faith entirely upon my interpretation of what is written in the Bible, while ignoring the still small voice of God, resulting in a finite box of rationalism in which to contain infinitely divine Providence. In turn, this last assumes two forms: 2a) “The Word says that God performed miracles of all types 2,000 years ago, but I don’t see them happening around me, so God has obviously stopped performing miracles.” And 2b) “The Word says that God performed miracles of all types 2,000 years ago, I see them happening all around me, so God is obviously obligated to give me everything I ask in just the way I want it and by my schedule.” Both of these side roads of real faith manifest a 21st Century version of Deism that presupposes a god who wound up a ‘system’ in which he no longer operates freely.

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. God specifically promised Abraham and Sarah that they would become the ancestral parents of millions, both physically and spiritually. This in spite of their age and condition. The Patriarch’s faith was not upon the promise, rather it was upon God, Himself, because he knew that God was perfectly faithful in the fulfillment of His promises. Because that fulfillment was 4,000 years ago does not mean that God cannot, and will not, perform a similar miracle today—but neither does it mean that God will today perform that miracle for absolutely everyone who asks. God promises to answer all of our requests. That answer may be “Yes…”, “No…”, or “Wait”. Maturity is learning to be content, whatever God’s response (2Co 12:7-10, Ph 4:11-13).