Climbing up a bedroom structure almost three times his height, my three-and-half-year-old son donned in his Superman pajamas quietly and quickly ascended to the top. I was not in the room, but that universal parent sense came over me that I needed to drop what I was doing and go check on him as “things were just too quiet.”
I peeked in his room and to my nervous amazement he was confidently standing on his sports organizer surveying the room from high above and deciding his next move. As I neared closer for his safety, I paused to ask what he was doing up there. He declared, “I am Super Z (his nickname) and I can fly!”
My chuckled reply informed him of his limitations: “You are Super Z, but you cannot fly and you can get really hurt if you fall off there.” I put out my arms and he left his perch and trustingly jumped safely to me.
This life experience from many years ago clearly illustrates the concept of Biblical faith. The word “faith” has a variety of meanings: belief, trust, or even a description of one’s religion.
The author of the Book of Hebrews found in the Bible shares, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (11:1).”
Faith begins when one responds to the revelation of God and is anchored as one leans into God’s character. Faith is not a blind belief, random jump or wishing hard enough to make something happen. It is responding to the truth of who God is and then living in that reality.
As my son realized his limitations and the danger he was facing from falling, he chose to jump to me because he knew or had faith that I would catch him. The knowledge and history my son possessed was based on prior experience and because his trust in me and our relationship has grown over time. It was not a stretch for my son to reach out and trust his daddy.
When one puts faith in God they are trusting in him even when there are unknowns and the future seems unsure. The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 highlights men and women who trusted and acted upon what they knew about God and were blessed to see Him work in their lives.
Verse 6 shows us how faith can even be lived out today: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
I believe humanity was created to love God and others and we please God when we respond to the grace He offers to His creation.
It starts when we, with childlike faith, believe God does exist. We are then blessed to be rescued by His embrace and enjoy a life following and living for Him.
The big life question is, “Will you take this leap?”
Frank Alioto serves as the Chaplain at Central Peninsula Hospital and with Central Emergency Services.
Frank Alioto serves as the Chaplain at Central Peninsula Hospital and with Central Emergency Services.
