I read a lot.
I read Christian teaching books. I read autobiographical books by other Christians. I read a lot of biographies about martyrs and missionaries and men and women of God. I listen to a lot of teachings on video from biblical scholars that I trust, knowing that their gospel is the same gospel that Jesus taught His disciples (gospel meaning "good news"). I study the bible a great deal.
But when it is all said and done, no matter how much I study, or listen, or read, I cannot escape the fact that FAITH is just a strange thing that cannot be explained to others because it cannot even be understood by us. It appears to have no logic, when in fact it is the most logical thing there is...at least to God. True faith isn't something we can muster up on our own. It comes only from God to us. And what comes from God often appears as strange to mere mortal men who do not have the scope of vision that our Creator God has; infinite scope of vision is required to make "logical sense" of true faith.
What I have found, however, is that even though it cannot be explained, it can in fact be seen; or better put, it can be demonstrated by the one with faith and witnessed by others who might not yet have faith. Thus, having a testimony that shows great faith becomes the best explanation of all, really.
It is a strange thing, for example, that in the very early 20th century, a man from South Wales by the name of Rees Howells and his wife, Elizabeth, were able to leave their only infant son behind with close family members, when the Lord called them to take up the work of missionaries to Africa. They could have rationalized that the Lord intended them to do this work once the child was grown, not when, being an infant, Africa could be life-threatening to the child.
But, instead, by faith they chose to live according to the word of God that said "Anyone who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Not wanting to harm the child, yet knowing they must respond obediently to the Lord, they made the decision to leave the child with Rees' uncle and aunt, who loved the child almost immediately upon meeting him. Still, the strength necessary for loving parents to part with their only son when the time came, would not have been possible had not the Lord reminded them of Calvary...of another One who gave up His own Son so that many might be saved from eternal death and have eternal life instead.
The Howells became part of the South Africa General Mission that had been founded in 1889 by the Rev. Andrew Murray; they were instrumental to the major revival that swept Africa during the early 1900's, a revival that brought thousands upon thousands to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The Howells' son, meanwhile, had every advantage from the family members who raised him as their own, even graduating from Oxford University. The foster parents of Samuel Rees Howells wanted him to become a doctor, but the young man received a call from God just as his own parents had done two decades earlier. He answered God's call by entering the ministry and joining his parents in their work, even though his parents had been deliberate in their efforts to never influence or draw him to themselves, for they believed it would dishonor God to "look back" in longing to that which they willingly gave to the Lord. It was God who restored to them that which they had given up for His Name's sake. It was God who brought Samuel back into the lives of his godly parents. The Howells gave up their life with their son, the privilege of all parents, in order to bring eternal life to countless others.
Strange also are those missionaries of the 1700's who packed their coffins with their few belongings before traveling to foreign places, knowing that the trip was one-way only...there would be no return to their homeland. But these "one-way missionaries" were willing to answer the call of the Lord to take His good news to those who would have no other way to know Jesus, except for those who were willing to give up comfort, home, family and friends, even their lives, for the sake of others. By faith these missionaries believed that the sufferings of this life were but a moment in comparison to the eternity of joy that they, and those they took the good news of the gospel to, would experience in the presence of the very Creator whom they worshipped and served.
It is strange that in the 1500's William Tyndale was willing to risk death in order to bring the good news of the gospel to his fellow Englishmen, desiring to translate the Word of God into English from the Latin in which it had been successfully hidden for centuries from the masses. Knowing that their sins and excesses would be exposed by the Word of God once it was available for all to read and understand, the hierarchy of the powerful Roman Catholic Church imprisoned Tyndale for over a year, convicted him of heresy, executed him by strangulation, and burned his body at the stake. Even upon threat of violent death, Tyndale would no relent from serving His Creator and Lord. By faith he knew that God Himself was not to be hidden from the world through an uncommon language. The faith demonstrated by William Tyndale birthed many missionaries who still to this day spend their lives living in the remotest foreign countries in order to learn specific new languages and translate the Word of God into those languages so that none will miss the opportunity to know Jesus Christ and have eternal life.
Strange that in the 2nd century, a Christian bishop named Polycarp refused to burn a simple pinch of incense as a sign of worship to the Roman Emperor; strange that he chose instead to burn at the stake. He might have said to himself, "What is a little pinch of incense? Surely it makes no difference. After all, in my heart I know who the real God is." But he did not rationalize himself away from death back towards life. He could not be dissuaded by mere death to compromise his witness to the world around him. And so he died a terrible death. Yet many who saw his faith received faith of their own and gained eternal life.
Strange that in the first century a young and vibrant 33 year old man, with his whole life still ahead of him, would demonstrate his tremendous faith in God, His Father, by following His Father's instructions willingly...all the way to a barbaric death on a cross. Strange that He would give his life for millions and millions of folks, even with the risk that many of them might never thank Him for the gift of having sacrificed His own life on that cross for their eternal salvation. Yet He went to the cross anyway, having faith that if even for only one, it was worth it all. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
Listen to what the apostle Paul had to say about faith:
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (Phil.2:8-9 NIV)
These words are strange to those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Strange indeed that all material possessions and successes that the world sees as gain, we Christians consider to be loss and rubbish in comparison to having that great strange thing called "faith in Christ" by which we live lives that bring honor to God:
I read Christian teaching books. I read autobiographical books by other Christians. I read a lot of biographies about martyrs and missionaries and men and women of God. I listen to a lot of teachings on video from biblical scholars that I trust, knowing that their gospel is the same gospel that Jesus taught His disciples (gospel meaning "good news"). I study the bible a great deal.
But when it is all said and done, no matter how much I study, or listen, or read, I cannot escape the fact that FAITH is just a strange thing that cannot be explained to others because it cannot even be understood by us. It appears to have no logic, when in fact it is the most logical thing there is...at least to God. True faith isn't something we can muster up on our own. It comes only from God to us. And what comes from God often appears as strange to mere mortal men who do not have the scope of vision that our Creator God has; infinite scope of vision is required to make "logical sense" of true faith.
What I have found, however, is that even though it cannot be explained, it can in fact be seen; or better put, it can be demonstrated by the one with faith and witnessed by others who might not yet have faith. Thus, having a testimony that shows great faith becomes the best explanation of all, really.
It is a strange thing, for example, that in the very early 20th century, a man from South Wales by the name of Rees Howells and his wife, Elizabeth, were able to leave their only infant son behind with close family members, when the Lord called them to take up the work of missionaries to Africa. They could have rationalized that the Lord intended them to do this work once the child was grown, not when, being an infant, Africa could be life-threatening to the child.
But, instead, by faith they chose to live according to the word of God that said "Anyone who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Not wanting to harm the child, yet knowing they must respond obediently to the Lord, they made the decision to leave the child with Rees' uncle and aunt, who loved the child almost immediately upon meeting him. Still, the strength necessary for loving parents to part with their only son when the time came, would not have been possible had not the Lord reminded them of Calvary...of another One who gave up His own Son so that many might be saved from eternal death and have eternal life instead.
The Howells became part of the South Africa General Mission that had been founded in 1889 by the Rev. Andrew Murray; they were instrumental to the major revival that swept Africa during the early 1900's, a revival that brought thousands upon thousands to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The Howells' son, meanwhile, had every advantage from the family members who raised him as their own, even graduating from Oxford University. The foster parents of Samuel Rees Howells wanted him to become a doctor, but the young man received a call from God just as his own parents had done two decades earlier. He answered God's call by entering the ministry and joining his parents in their work, even though his parents had been deliberate in their efforts to never influence or draw him to themselves, for they believed it would dishonor God to "look back" in longing to that which they willingly gave to the Lord. It was God who restored to them that which they had given up for His Name's sake. It was God who brought Samuel back into the lives of his godly parents. The Howells gave up their life with their son, the privilege of all parents, in order to bring eternal life to countless others.
Strange also are those missionaries of the 1700's who packed their coffins with their few belongings before traveling to foreign places, knowing that the trip was one-way only...there would be no return to their homeland. But these "one-way missionaries" were willing to answer the call of the Lord to take His good news to those who would have no other way to know Jesus, except for those who were willing to give up comfort, home, family and friends, even their lives, for the sake of others. By faith these missionaries believed that the sufferings of this life were but a moment in comparison to the eternity of joy that they, and those they took the good news of the gospel to, would experience in the presence of the very Creator whom they worshipped and served.
It is strange that in the 1500's William Tyndale was willing to risk death in order to bring the good news of the gospel to his fellow Englishmen, desiring to translate the Word of God into English from the Latin in which it had been successfully hidden for centuries from the masses. Knowing that their sins and excesses would be exposed by the Word of God once it was available for all to read and understand, the hierarchy of the powerful Roman Catholic Church imprisoned Tyndale for over a year, convicted him of heresy, executed him by strangulation, and burned his body at the stake. Even upon threat of violent death, Tyndale would no relent from serving His Creator and Lord. By faith he knew that God Himself was not to be hidden from the world through an uncommon language. The faith demonstrated by William Tyndale birthed many missionaries who still to this day spend their lives living in the remotest foreign countries in order to learn specific new languages and translate the Word of God into those languages so that none will miss the opportunity to know Jesus Christ and have eternal life.
Strange that in the 2nd century, a Christian bishop named Polycarp refused to burn a simple pinch of incense as a sign of worship to the Roman Emperor; strange that he chose instead to burn at the stake. He might have said to himself, "What is a little pinch of incense? Surely it makes no difference. After all, in my heart I know who the real God is." But he did not rationalize himself away from death back towards life. He could not be dissuaded by mere death to compromise his witness to the world around him. And so he died a terrible death. Yet many who saw his faith received faith of their own and gained eternal life.
Strange that in the first century a young and vibrant 33 year old man, with his whole life still ahead of him, would demonstrate his tremendous faith in God, His Father, by following His Father's instructions willingly...all the way to a barbaric death on a cross. Strange that He would give his life for millions and millions of folks, even with the risk that many of them might never thank Him for the gift of having sacrificed His own life on that cross for their eternal salvation. Yet He went to the cross anyway, having faith that if even for only one, it was worth it all. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
Listen to what the apostle Paul had to say about faith:
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (Phil.2:8-9 NIV)
These words are strange to those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Strange indeed that all material possessions and successes that the world sees as gain, we Christians consider to be loss and rubbish in comparison to having that great strange thing called "faith in Christ" by which we live lives that bring honor to God:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that HE IS, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Here in America it is difficult to witness this strange thing called faith, although it can still be found. Elsewhere, in countries suffering intense religious persecution it can be see more easily.
Here is a link to news stories tracked by an organization that strives to keep the world aware of those thousands that are still today being persecuted for their faith. These Christians need our prayers. Most of these stories occurred during Christmas this year, as we here in America celebrated in the warmth of our homes surrounded by loved ones:
http://www.persecution.org/2013/12/
In one of these stories you will find a statement that reads:
"A mass exodus is taking place, on a biblical scale. In some places there is a real danger that Christianity will become extinct."
The article goes on to state that this is due to religious persecution from those who have made Christianity "a taboo subject" due to "political correctness, or some sense of embarrassment at 'doing God'."
I cannot help but be reminded of the prophetic words of Jesus recorded more than 2,000 years ago:
Here in America it is difficult to witness this strange thing called faith, although it can still be found. Elsewhere, in countries suffering intense religious persecution it can be see more easily.
Here is a link to news stories tracked by an organization that strives to keep the world aware of those thousands that are still today being persecuted for their faith. These Christians need our prayers. Most of these stories occurred during Christmas this year, as we here in America celebrated in the warmth of our homes surrounded by loved ones:
http://www.persecution.org/2013/12/
In one of these stories you will find a statement that reads:
"A mass exodus is taking place, on a biblical scale. In some places there is a real danger that Christianity will become extinct."
The article goes on to state that this is due to religious persecution from those who have made Christianity "a taboo subject" due to "political correctness, or some sense of embarrassment at 'doing God'."
I cannot help but be reminded of the prophetic words of Jesus recorded more than 2,000 years ago:
Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
(Luke 18:8)
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