I have just completed a personal study on the life of David in the Bible. What an incredible life, and what a rich cast of characters! Of course the event which catapulted David into the nation's awareness was his showdown with the giant, Goliath. It occurred to me as I was reading the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) that Goliath was a man of extraordinary faith. He possessed faith in greater measure perhaps than all the hosts of the armies of Israel arrayed in front of him. His faith was in his stature, his strength, his armor, his intimidating presence, and his experience and reputation as a fighting man. He may also have had faith in his gods, by which he cursed David. Such was his faith that he walked out into the empty space between the two armies and defied the fighting men of Israel to send a champion to fight him. What an ocean of faith! Such perfect confidence!
David possessed faith in equal measure, but his faith was made of very different stuff. Read the story again and count the number of declaritive statements that he makes about what "will" happen to Goliath. Unlike Goliath, however, his faith was ultimately not in himself or his abilities, but in the God of Israel. The same God who had delivered him from the lion and the bear as he shepherded his father's sheep. In truth, it was not David vs. Goliath as we often say, but God vs. Goliath. Now you tell me who comes off looking small?
1 Samuel 17 tells the story of a showdown between two men of faith, but here's the thing about faith. The object we put faith in is far more important than the amount of faith we possess. Jesus said that a mustard seed, a very small amount, of faith can move mountains, because that faith is put in an object worthy of our faith- the living God who always accomplishes whatever He wills. Goliath proves that possessing enormous faith in an unworthy object will eventually lead to ruin. My brother, John, likens it to two men in airplane at 30,000 feet. One man is equipped with a parachute, and he has perfect faith that when he jumps from the plane he will deploy his umbrella and float softly to the ground. The other is wearing a parachute, but he is very nervous. He's not as confident as the man with the umbrella, but he has just enough faith to jump. When these two men jump from the plane the amount of faith they possessed won't matter. All that will matter is the object they put their faith in. So the question is, which have I placed my faith in- an umbrella or a parachute? Am I a Goliath or am I a David. Is my hope in Christ or something else?
Sarah and I are down in the valley with the kids to attend the funeral for her Grandma, a woman who put her faith in Jesus, a worthy object. Death always serves to remind us of our own mortaility and focuses the minds of mourners on questions of God and their own eternal destination. After the service last night I stood for a moment in the back of the church watching everyone mingle. The room was full of people. Grandma would have loved it.
I stood in the back and looked upon a room full of people who all possessed some measure of faith. But faith in what? That was the question on my mind.
Friday, April 15, 2011
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2 comments:
a mustard seed huh? how do you measure faith again...(not tangible like a seed so kinda hard). Is moving mountains a metaphor or literal. This leads to other interpretation of scripture, but thats for another time. Does God 'always accomplish' his will? "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance". I love that you looked at Goliath and his faith. cool stuff
Dear Anonymous,
You're right, faith is a difficult thing to measure, but that is why I think it is so important to place whatever faith you have (great or small) in Christ. The point is that what we place our faith in is more important than the amount of faith we have (don't get caught up in trying to measure your faith- just ask yourself what do I make a habit of placing my faith in. That is your God.), and yes I think faith can move mountains (literally or physically). Asking if faith can move a mountain is like asking if God can move a mountain because faith is not about some mysterious power to be found inside a man, it is about a belief in something outside of yourself. Can that something move a mountain? If the answer is "yes" then faith can move a mountain. People put their faith in all kinds of things, but that faith is only as good as what they are placing it in. That's my point. Faith can move a mountain, conquer death, heal a disease, and part the red sea because God can do those things. Is your faith in God?
...And yes, I believe that God accomplishes whatever He wills. That is the very definition of omnipotence. His plans cannot be thwarted. Whatever he sets out to do he accomplishes. Whatever He has willed to happen will come to pass. You can argue that man possesses free will, and although it is God's desire for every person to be saved they still reject Him, but this is not the same as saying that God is not omnipotent. He could, by an act of will, bring every man and woman into a saving relationship with Himself but he chooses not to do that. He has chosen instead to endow every person with free will. This raises broader questions about how man's will and God's will interact. Scripture doesn't fully illuminate that relationship so I don;t feel that I need to either, but scripture does hold the two up as true. God is sovereign and what he wills to happen always happens, but somehow man has a responsibility as well which is why God in His word presents this as a choice. That's what it is, really and truly, a choice. We may put our faith into anything we want, but the sobering thought is that with that freedom of the will we can also make some truly terrible decisions. We can say for example "I am basically good," and make the mistake of rejecting our need for a savior. In so doing, we put our faith in our own personal righteousness which is completely inadequate to the task.
Goliath had a real faith, which I suspect if you could measure faith somehow would put my own faith to shame, but it failed him because it was ultimately misplaced.
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