THE SIMPILEST EXPLANATION IS GENERALLY THE BEST
In a mother’s womb were two babies.
One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”
The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery”
“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by Her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”
(Excerpts from “CathNews” with Amy Stanley/Facebook, March 2015, Courtesy of Lynda Talbot)
This simple but beautiful explanation (parable) offers a clearer understanding of the “power of personal faith” in a way that few could object or dispute. I hope you think so, too.
I’ve been a serious, “intense” kind of gal my whole life, surrounding myself with friends and colleagues who look at life perhaps a little differently than most. I want to understand my world and why people do the things they do, but I don’t have the need to insinuate myself into every situation or drama to formulate an opinion. I pride myself in possessing a firm grasp on reality (most of the time anyway), and the ability to exercise good common sense. Who I am, and the things I do, would not be possible were it not for a firm, and unyielding faith in my God, a hard-earned belief in myself and a tentative trust in mankind as a whole.
Faith, by definition is that intangible belief, a trust, confidence, conviction; a certainty of what we can’t see but know without doubt is true. With faith, we are assured of a brighter future regardless of what is happening in the world today. With faith, we find excuses to deliberately develop an attitude of hope. Fear is conquered, and everything we attempt is, indeed possible. With no faith we become resigned to a pre-determined destiny of “That’s all, Folks!” when our bodies deteriorate or fail to support life here on earth (death). I’d be okay with that if the facts supported such a finite version of life, but for me (and others like me) they just don’t. Even Atheists have faith that there is no God!
Faith, in a spiritual context, can easily be defined as the personal connection you enjoy with the Almighty, by any other name, or whatever you define a higher power to be. Religion is the public way you practice your faith. Although the words religion and faith are used interchangeably, the distinction is important. Theoretically, one could conceivably exist without the other, but in light of growing frustration toward and against organized religions by younger generations and marginalized societal groups, differentiating “faith” from “religion” takes on critical importance.
According to estimates, there are approximately 4,200 religions in the world. Did you know Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, Moses and others associated with world religions, all identified themselves as “prophets”, never claiming to be equal to God? The Almighty does not force us to believe or have faith in Him, although He could if He wanted to. Whether you associate your faith with religion and regularly attend a church, synagogue, mosque, shrine, etc… you’d be hard-pressed to research the word “faith” with examples not attached to any religion or belief system in a higher power.
You don’t need to flash a “religion card” to show you are a faithful person, but few will understand how you can maintain your faith without community support. It can be done, of course. There are millions of people around the world who have never stepped a foot inside a holy place. The Bible says “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). I believe that I often show my faith by the person I am and the kind of work I do, but that is only a small part of my understanding of what faith truly is.
“Faith” and “trust” are words that are used interchangeably. Trust in another human being begins early in life. Infants rely on responsible adults to provide nourishment in order to survive because they cannot do it themselves. Physicians trust that parents will follow through with care throughout the child’s life, and check periodically to make sure they do (health exams). As we go through life, we continue to reach out to others for assistance, trusting that they have the skills they advertise, the ability and desire to help us in time of need. In our advanced years, we have faith that the end of life treatment we receive will be adequate, compassionate, and commensurate with how we would treat ourselves and others, if able.
Obviously “faith” can be either a noun or an adjective in its many forms of understanding. The very word has gathered skepticism, sparked debate, enlisted devout followers and encouraged flowery prose since the formation of the human language:
*”I have faith that the sun will come up and the sun will go down, and the very same thing will happen tomorrow”. (Eric Biehl, “Connecting Faith and Life in no Particular order: Essays on Christian Faith”)
*”Faith makes things possible…not easy.”
*”The weakest part of my life can become the strongest part of my faith.”
*”Where there is Hope, there is Faith; where there is Faith, Miracles happen.”
*”Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Heb.11:1)
Perhaps you know people that say they “no longer have faith” — in God, in relationships, in our government, in the common good of mankind due to traumatic life experiences. What kind of horrors must occur before a person “loses all faith”? The world provides multiple examples of how some individuals have primarily lost their way. I’ve talked to hundreds of people who are in untenable situations who admit they “just don’t care anymore”.
When we put our faith in tangible entities (people, places and things), confusing the difference between what is and what could be, we lose all creative thinking and hope. We essentially slam shut the door of possibility, and limit our abilities to the finite. There becomes absolutely no room for growth or prosperity.
“There are no atheists in the foxhole”. Rev. William T. Cummings, a soldier that served in Bataan who provided the frequently quoted euphemism, believed that in times of great fear and distress (as in a battle), even the most recalcitrant non-believer will instinctively turn to God for courage, if not salvation. What does that say about us? Do you believe as a people that we are so shallow, so self-absorbed like a two-year old asserting “I can do it myself!” before turning to the Almighty as a back-up plan?
Yes, I do. Most of the time anyway. Religious leaders are adjusting their rhetoric in print and at the pulpit to become more “sensitive and politically correct” to appeal to a new generation that finds the institution of formal religion too old-fashioned and out of touch. Parents are purposely delaying religious/spiritual education and discussions about a Higher Power until early adulthood, when most of the child’s biases are already formed and prejudices well established by what they see and hear on television or the internet.
Tell me, when we reach the end of our extensive education or practical skills, when we’ve tried just about everything we as humans can think of singularly or collectively to get what we want for ourselves or on behalf of others, where do we turn? Do we just give up and call it a day? That’s generally when we remember that there is, indeed, “something” out there, and we pray. We pray in earnest that we might still be worthy enough to be heard. We make bargains with God, begging forgiveness for past and present transgressions, and promising that we will change our evil ways. We do this if our faith is weak or as “tiny as a mustard seed”, just in case, hedging all bets, as it were. We even ask for expediency in the matter, thank you very much, although we doubt the very existence of the entity we are imploring!
Denying, or discrediting any faith or religion (even if it differs from our own) is a risky prospect for anyone counseling as a friend or therapist. To not acknowledge “a power” greater than ourselves and our own abilities yet unseen, validates to a loving couple within a struggling marriage that there are no solutions to their problems, to a drug addict that his fate is sealed, or the parents of a sick child that there is absolutely no hope for a cure. A future without hope, expectations, anticipation, new ideas and inventions, is no future at all.
Would you be surprised to know that the majority of patients in Hospice are amongst the most faithful people I have ever known? Regardless of their illness, there are no worries where they are going after death (either to heaven or back to the earth), and generally, very little fear. There is a clear understanding that there must be an ending before a new beginning. Even if they do not have a religious affiliation, most patients believe in a power that will go beyond the finality of death, beyond the limitations of modern science and contemporized opinion to erase all their pain and suffering, ultimately to bring everlasting peace. In fact, they are counting on it.
That seems like common sense wisdom to me.