This essay continues a sequence. Read the previous one here.
If I know something, I don’t have faith in it – I just know it.
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In “Faith Is A Halfway House” we established that faith is the beginning of followership of Christ and not the end goal. We discussed the fact that faith is required where conviction (i.e. true knowledge) is lacking (ref. “Act To Experience To Know“).
True Faith is Not Compatible With Materialism
The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed,
— Matt 13: 31-32
which a man took,
and sowed in his field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds:
but when it is grown,
it is the greatest among herbs,
and becometh a tree,
so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
…
If ye had faith
— Luke 17:6
as a grain of mustard seed,
ye might say unto this sycamine tree,
Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea;
and it should obey you.
The shoot from a pure mustard seed grows upwards towards the heavens, not downwards into the earthly soil.
The faith that develops into the power to “move the sycamine tree” (figuratively speaking) is the pure faith directed upwards towards spiritual enlightenment, not the faith that is directed at earthly goals and earthly comfort.
It has nothing to do with the physical emotions generated by motivational speaking and similar practices. It emerges from the soul of a human being who is humbly seeking something more than transient pleasures, and who intuitively perceives that The Word provides it.
Like the mustard seed, faith must be planted and cultivated, and in so doing its nature will change. Faith when cultivated by action produces the fruit of knowledge (ref. “Act To Experience To Know“).
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Faith is Continuously Renewed
Blessed are they that have not seen,
— KJV, John 20:29
and yet have believed.
To have “seen” here is to be understood as to have “personally experienced”.
Our personal experiences shape our world view, including the things we take for granted. By “taken for granted” we include things that no longer require faith to be believed i.e. knowledge.
The Word teaches us about Creation. At any point in time, our world view is extremely narrow and ignorant in relation to the reality of Creation. Spiritual development is a process of expanding our world view.
God’s Love and Truth are infinite. The Word is infinite.
Therefore, in earthly terms, there are an unlimited number of stages of spiritual development.
Continual experiencing will continually reshape our world view. As we arrive at a higher level of understanding, we will reevaluate that which we already (thought we) knew. This will not invalidate the old, but will allow us to see it in a more mature way.
Humility is Faith
In this light, a key element of faith is that humility that ensures we remain open to new insights, and to reevaluating things that we have taken for granted.
So it would be misleading to give the impression that faith disappears at some point in life and is completely replaced by knowledge.
Faith remains but, like knowledge, its essential nature also matures and changes.
Faith is not the end goal of the journey, but the humility within faith is an essential companion on the journey of spiritual development.
This faith will yield spiritual knowledge, and this knowledge will express itself in miraculous works.
The works of true faith are not materialistic achievements driven by the urge for comfort, wealth, fame, power, and other transient attractions.
The miraculous works of true faith will of course have earthly relevance, but they are essentially of a loving spiritual nature, and they contribute to the spiritual upliftment of other human beings.
Today’s Resolution
- We shall seek to find and express pure faith within us; a faith that is not conditional or related to material goals but on childlike understanding and adherence to the Word of Love.
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