If you think faith is difficult, it may be some consolation to know that even Jesus’ apostles didn’t always find it easy. Luke tells us that they came to him one day and said, ‘Increase our faith.’ (Luke 17.5) Jesus’ answer was not all that helpful: ‘If you had 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.’ What’s that all about? Was he really saying that faith is virtually impossible, and even his disciples didn’t really have any? Was he perhaps warning them not to waste their time agonising about the size of their faith, but to think instead about its object? Or was he asking them, What do you want faith for? If it’s to do amazing miracles, you’re wanting it for the wrong reason.
We in our day might have different reasons for finding faith difficult. Perhaps it’s the powerful grip that secular materialism has over practically every aspect of life, or the persuasiveness of popular best-sellers like Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion. Or it could be something in our own life experience or choices, how we want to live our lives, that makes it hard to believe in anything beyond our own narrow orbit.
The season of Lent, with its emphasis on self-examination and change, provides a good opportunity to think about faith, and work on growing it. Lent is early this year because Easter is almost the earliest it can be - in fact Easter Day falls on March 23rd only twice in 250 years, the last time being 1913. So beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 6th, why not try some of these Faith Building Exercises?
1. Make time for God. We all complain that life today is too busy, too noisy, there’s just too much hurry. One of the best things to give up in Lent is some of this hurry. Set aside, say, half an hour a day (you may be lucky enough to manage longer), just to be quiet. Get up a little earlier in the morning, or turn the telly off a bit earlier (or don’t turn it on at all), or take some time during the lunch hour to slip into a church if you can find one open. Use the time just to sit quietly, to spend some minutes in prayer or meditation, tuning in to God. Some of the time could be used for spiritual reading, of the Bible or some other Christian book. But the important thing is just to be still and listen.
2. Be part of a community. It’s very hard, if not impossible, to be a believer on your own; we all need the encouragement and support of others. That’s why being part of a Christian congregation, and joining in its activities, is so important. There are parts of the world where people would never miss a Sunday in church, because they’re so afraid they won’t be there when God does something amazing. Sadly, we often fail to have that sense of expectancy: but what if we did have it? The regular attendance is vital; so why not use Lent to cultivate a habit of church attendance on Sundays, and maybe to join one of the helpful ecumenical study groups that will be meeting? These groups will be studying the Lord’s Prayer in a friendly and informal atmosphere of sharing with other people.
3. Do what Jesus says. One of Jesus’ most challenging sayings to some of those who claimed to follow him was, ‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you?’ (Luke 6.46) It’s an urgent reminder that being a Christian is not just about believing, but about living the right way too. We are required to obey what Jesus tells his students (or disciples) to do. So why not use Lent as a time for revising your knowledge of what Jesus teaches - perhaps by reading the Gospels - and actually working at putting it into practice? Experiment with loving your enemies, forgiving those who’ve offended you, praying for people you don’t get on with. Try putting God’s kingdom or rule before everything else in life, not judging others, trusting God instead of worrying about everything.
All of these ‘exercises’ are essentially about not only thinking or talking about Christianity, but living it out. I think the mistake Richard Dawkins makes about believing in God, is to treat it as a matter of intellectual inquiry and argument. In reality, it’s about relationship with God, and with other believers. If you are enjoying a living relationship with someone, you seldom waste much time wondering about whether or not they exist. Many seekers who seriously try to live the Christian life, find that it works and makes sense, for being, rather than seeing, is believing.
Why not use Lent 2008 as an opportunity to make this experiment for yourself?
Published in the Marston Times, February 2008