Feeling Faith

April 21, 2019

Polly almost always wore a smile. She wasn’t unfamiliar with heartache and trouble. She knew her share of tragedy and trials, but through it all somehow managed not just to force the corners of her mouth skyward, but to genuinely break into a smile that lit up her eyes. She was kind, and had the kind of simple faith I often envied. I would watch her and wonder what it would be like to feel cheerful most of the time, and what was wrong with me and my faith that I was more familiar with melancholy than merriment.

I don’t suppose anyone desires to be melancholy, but that seemed my lot until I learned the power of gratitude. Even then, I have to work at it; to force my mind towards the good for which I am thankful. It took me a long time to understand that if my focus is on my happiness, the focus is on me instead of Christ. If I am the focus, he is not; I’m not worshipping him, but myself. I suspect much of the unhappiness people feel is the result of a misplaced focus of our attention. We believe the lie that tells us that happiness is a worthy pursuit instead of the byproduct of a worshipful spirit.

Easter is a good time to focus on the root of our faith instead of merely the fruit of it. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, St. Paul declared what he considered to be of primary importance: “I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures;” He goes on to tell us that if Christ isn’t raised from the dead, our faith is empty, and we are of all people to be pitied. In other words, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very core of our faith. Without it, we have no faith.

And yet so much of our worship, so many of our prayers, so much of our attention is centered in ourselves—how we feel and what we want—instead of on what God did for us 2,000 years ago in Jesus Christ. We talk about our relationship with Christ as if that were the most important thing. It’s not. It’s not the center of anything except our own little world. Jesus Christ is the center of all God does, not me, not you. What he did on the cross and in his resurrection changed everything for all who by faith become partakers of his grace. 

A little over 230 years ago, James Madison penned the draft of what became the US Constitution. I don’t feel giddy or oozy-woozy over it, but that piece of paper has literally changed the lives of those privileged enough to call themselves citizens of this country. It’s not how we feel about it that makes the difference; it’s the fact that it was written and enacted, and that I live under its tenets that makes the difference.

The same is true about Jesus Christ. It’s what he did and the fact that by faith we enter into that new reality that makes all the difference. We may feel elated and joyful; at other times we may feel hard pressed, and still other times we may enjoy peace or come under conviction. Our feelings can be all over the board, but it’s the reality of what Jesus did that makes the difference. Today we celebrate what he did, not how we feel. And THAT makes all the difference! Polly was usually upbeat; me, not so much. But we both put our trust in what Jesus Christ did on the cross and in his resurrection, and because of that, Polly is with him, and I bow before him today. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!