Will He Find Faith?

   “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18: 8)

   As a Christian I define faith as the certainty of things I can’t prove, explain or understand.  I can’t see God, but I have faith in His presence; I can’t prove that Christ rose from the dead, but I don’t question the resurrection; I don’t understand eternity but have no doubt that my soul is eternal and will live forever.

   This is a faith that I find I can’t apply to earthly matters.  I may hope that a politician will keep their word, but I don’t have faith that they will.  I may have trust in a doctor’s ability, but trust isn’t the same as the certainty of my faith in God.  Even those we should be able to have faith in, our family and our close friends, violate our trust at times.

   I look at the sunrise and I expect to see the sunrise again tomorrow, yet I realize that I may not be here to see it.  There may never be another sunrise; God may end the earth as we know it this night.  If so I have absolute faith that His decision was the right one and that it is for the best.

   Faith is the thread running throughout the Bible.  The patriarchs had faith that God would lead them to a better place.  Prophets had faith that the words of God they shared were the messages God wished them to share.  The apostles had faith in Jesus as the Messiah.  Martyrs had the faith that the world they were going to was worth the punishment, torture and death they willingly accepted.

   The faith we are to have in God isn’t really applicable to anything earthly.  Our world is flawed and weakened by sin.  All are tempted and, at times, all fail.  A faith in a flawed system such as the world in which we live just isn’t realistic.  We are only fooling ourselves if we believe otherwise.  We can trust that others will do as they have promised and as they should; we can hope that they will live up to the promises they make but all too often we are disappointed.  Our faith in God will never cause such disappointment.

   Will the Son of Man find faith when He comes?  I fear that He will find far more faithlessness that faith; far more skepticism that trust and far more denial than acceptance.  It is our mission as Christians to have the faith Jesus will be looking for upon His return.  It is our duty to remain faithful regardless of the trials and tribulations of this world.

   “Faith is the strength by which a shattered world will emerge into the light.” (Helen Keller)