Advent Week - Faith

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   This season of the year, perhaps more than most, has given us a wide range of movies to watch. One of the classic films is "Miracle on 34^th Street." As the film opens, the man who was supposed to play Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is drunk, and another man, who gives his name as "Kris Kringle" is pressed in to play the role. A little girl, Susan, doesn't believe in Santa Clause because her mother, Doris, says that such belief is unreasonable. A lawyer, and fiancé to Doris, tells Susan that she needs to have faith and then defines faith as "believing in things when common sense tells you not to."

   As sentimental as this is this time of year, this is not the Bible's definition of faith. Hebrews 11 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. [...] And without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (vv. 1-2, 6)." 

   For Christians, faith is not contrary to reason; it is not something we believe when common sense tells us otherwise. Faith is the reasonable response to trust God with the future based on the solid evidence of what He has done in the past. This trust begins when we look to Jesus who, being truly God, set aside His divine privileges to become truly human. In His humanity, Jesus shared in our difficulties and temptations so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest and redeem us from our sins (Hebrews 2:17). As we focus on faith this week, let us look with confidence to the unknown future and place our trust in what we know Jesus has done for us in the past. May this motivate us to serve Him faithfully in the present.