“Faith is a journey without maps.”1 It is something many desire to have and to hold yet it is elusive, difficult to pin down. Finding our way to faith is sometimes hard to do.
I wish that wasn’t true. I’d like it to be easier but on the other hand maybe it’s not as complex as we think. Marcus Borg says in his book The Heart of Christianity that “being a Christian involves us in an unending conversation with the Bible, the Christian tradition, and each other.”
According to Luke’s Gospel, one day Jesus was in a conversation with his disciples when he said, “If you had faith…” His words imply, “If you had faith, and of course you all do, then you would be able to do great things.” He is not judging them, he is encouraging them. He is saying, “YOU HAVE FAITH!” You don’t need a map for this life’s journey because, through your faith, even if it is just a little, it is more than enough and it will help you find the way.
This is an indirect invitation from Jesus to us to do something with our lives. Jesus wants us to see that we already have the resources within us to do wonderful things for the church, for each other, for God. A faith based on a relationship is one that can grow with even the tiniest bit of conviction. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews said, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Do you remember that scene in Acts 1 when Jesus ascends into heaven? The disciples are still clueless in Canaan. They are still waiting for Jesus to “restore the kingdom to Israel.” Jesus needs to leave so they can grow up, so they can learn to trust in their faith and their gifts, and move forward toward the life that God has blessed them with. Jesus is leaving them for their own good. If Jesus were to stay, we would be tempted to make him, as my buddy Dick Wing likes to say, “Our divine errand boy!”
Martin Luther King said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope. The small faith we already possess can put us in touch with the infinite power of God for nothing is impossible with God.”
If you have faith, and you do, you can live a life worth living. It is a journey without maps because we already know the way.
Grace and peace to you,
1 by Frederick Buechner
