The Do-ability of Faith

Recently we heard a message about How faith makes a difference to our lives, in the ways that count, in the way people perceive us.

This set me thinking about the biblical evidences of faith, not so much in the “your faith has made you whole” sort of healing story, but in the context of the Old Testament. For example, in the story of the manna from heaven during the Exodus story the people could only count on one day supply at a time. If they took more than their daily need the manna would spoil.

These sorts of episodes start right from the early chapters of Genesis. Noah had to work for an extended period of years to build the ark and yet only his family was saved. Abraham was told to take his son to a mountain and to sacrifice him. They set out collected the equipment that would be necessary for the sacrifice when the journey was almost over Abraham is asked by his son where the sacrifice is to which his father replies “God will supply.”

In each of these stories, and stacks more, from the Old Testament have a number of common elements. First God speaks, then the people or person obeys, and finally God acts. The facts of the matter are that Father requires an action from his people in order to deliver the miraculous event.

I rather suspect that had Abraham told Isaac that he was the intended sacrifice; Abraham would not have seen his son for dust, and the sacrifice would have been aborted. Instead Abraham replied, God supplies, and I guess Isaac was used to comments similar to this coming from his father’s mouth, lo and behold waiting for them is a sheep trapped at the site of the sacrifice.  God’s plan continues.

These stories do more than provide an inspirational background to our faith: they model a relationship to us that illustrate the way that God want us to relate to Him. Father wants us so finely attuned to His will that we choose to obey when He tells us to do something, a choice that is motivated not out of fear but because we want to please Him.

In Luke 10 Jesus sent out the 72 Disciples. On the face of it, it was mission impossible, they were to take no spare clothes, no shoes, no cash, and as the old song used to say “don’t dilly dally on the way”: they were to be entirely dependent upon their hosts for the needs of the day and for the next day, for that matter. It was, sort of, a modern day manna in the wilderness experience, for them. When the 72 returned they were jubilant. They had discovered that they had the authority to cast out evil spirits and demons (Luke 10:17). Jesus reply to this jubilation was “no big deal it is better that your names are written in heaven.” (paraphrase)

So Jesus selected 72 of His followers to go ahead and set up the places He wanted to go. That was nearly two thousand years ago, so what has it to do with us in the here and now? Well for me this story says there is very little new in God’s plan. This event is an echo of the events of the Exodus and God’s provision for the People of Israel on their journey to the land of promise. It also speaks to me here and now, as the disciples would no doubt have thought back to the stories they had learnt at Passover Table growing up, so I see back to these men who would have thought as Jews returning to Jesus as changed men

It seems to me that these men are the arch-type of what we are called to be. After His resurrection and just prior to His ascension Jesus told His Disciples to Go, Make Disciples, and Teach them to Obey His teachings. This is still our mandate as believers today.

Can we do anything less than obey in whatever He tells us to do: and to do it whole heartedly and fully?