THE POWER OF FAITH

In the Gospel of Luke (17:5-10), the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith. It was because the community of Luke experienced persecution, hostility and violence. However, Jesus did not respond directly to the request of the apostles. Instead, He said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” The emphasis here is quality and not quantity. The issue is not the size or amount because the power behind our faith is the power of God. Even a very little faith is more than enough for God to work in our lives. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God!” (Romans 8:38) “If God is for us, who can be against us!” (Romans 8:31) “Nothing is impossible to God!” (Luke 1:37) Faith is the priceless gift of God that must be rekindled regularly through our commitment, conviction and cooperation. It must be guarded, nurtured and cultivated. It is faith in God not in oneself, money, weapons and people because they will just disappoint us. Faith in God because His love and mercy are eternal. The author of the letter to the Hebrews declares that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11:1) Faith is not simply to believe that God exists but a loving trust that He works only for our good. It is a call and a challenge to persevere when we are tempted to give up, when all evidence point to the contrary and when things do not seem to go the way we want. It is a call and a challenge to believe and to know that our future is in the capable hands of God and that we have nothing to fear. Faith is not earned and bought but only responded to with works of love and service. It is not a spirit of cowardice, timidity and anxiousness about the future. Faith is a spirit of power, of love and of self control. Gold is tested by fire and our faith is more precious than gold and is also tested by fire. How do we nurture our faith? It is through prayer because it allows us to be centered in God’s loving presence. We need also to associate ourselves with people of faith participating in the life of the Church, in worship and liturgy. Scriptures form and correct our faith and draw us closer to God. It is important to act in faith because every gift of God is strengthened by the exercise of it. Faith therefore empowers us to see with God’s eyes with mercy, courage and truth.