Heroes Aren't Hard to Find: Part II

faith n.
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
6. A set of principles or beliefs.

When Christians say they have Faith, this is what they mean, more or less.
1. We place our confidence in the truth that God is our valuable, trustworthy Creator and Parent.
2. While this doesn't rest in a whole lot of logical proof or material evidence sometimes, there is more than enough evidence (in the natural world and in our hearts) to manifest this Truth over and over again throughout time and history.
3. We strive to be loyal to our Father and to our Brothers and Sisters; so much so that we will sacrifice things for Him and give ourselves and our resources to help and heal Them, respectively.
4. We trust in God and God's Will. Though this is not always clear, we know His Will is always working in concert with our God-given free will.
6. And we adhere to certain sets of principles and beliefs handed down to us by our great Master, the Teacher for all Ages -- Jesus Christ. He is the crux of our Faith. Without Him, we have no Faith at all.

The reference at point #5 may sting some of us a bit because "dogma" has come to mean something negative, though there are no inherently negative connotations in its original definition.

dog·ma n.

1. A doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith, set forth in an authoritative manner by a church.
2. An authoritative principle, belief, or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true.
3. A principle or belief or a group of them: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present" (Abraham Lincoln).

Dogma reduced to its simplest form, means we believe in the Nicene Creed. Dogma in its most destructive form, can mean all sorts of things. Examples I have come across in my personal experience include: if you drink wine at all, you're a drunkard; when you speak, it is equivalent to a confession, and will come to pass, good or bad; if you don't tithe, God will not bless you; if you are not a virgin before marriage, you are a whore condemned to Hell. And on and on and on.

But on what are these latter "faiths" based? Ourselves. If we truly have faith in our Shepherd, then we have no basis for Faith in ourselves. Faith in ourselves is no faith at all. We fail, we fall, we lie, cheat, steal, put people down, squander our resources, waste all sorts of things, mistreat our loved ones and then ask for Commendation. Faith in ourselves will not hold because it is ultimately faith in the Mosaic Law.

Someone figured out a long time ago that justification to God through the Law could not be fulfilled. He is the One in Whom we put our Faith. He did it. He granted us face-to-face access to Himself through His work. And He never asked for a thing in return -- only our lives; past, present and future. But this is not a thing we give simply to be given. It is something we give away to get back 100 fold. He takes out the life we have made for ourselves and infuses His life into it. This new life is so alive that it cannot be killed.

He has always wanted us to love Him wholely, so He came and did what had never been done. And in the process He showed us how much He truly loves us. No one Who hung on the cross for me, enduring unspeakable torture, will ever turn me away. He accepted me. Not the way I want to be, but the way I was, am, and will be.

That's grace.

As well as beauty, simplicity, love, generosity, vibrancy, and indelible, incredible peace.

The mess the Church has been in ever since was all our doing, 100%. Somehow, we took free Grace and made it cost something. We've been trying to earn it ever since, holding ourselves and others up to impossible standards. Still pointing Pharisaic fingers, still blaming people for their own maladies, still unaccepting of anything imperfect, blemished or slightly human.

The Church (for the most part) has tried to bleed all the humanity out of us and transform us into cardboard, innocuous, spineless, joyless, cheeseballs. Not interesting, educated, funny, edgy, satirical or alive. But dead prayer books. That is not what Christ redeemed us for.

John10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

This leads to the first section of my examination. Who are these heroes of the Faith? And how do they affect mine?

Hebrews 11

By Faith

1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

The working definition of Faith has already been established for our purposes here. But as verse 1 states, we have not yet seen this Faith with our eyes. We can feel its ripplings and rumblings in our inner world every time a baby is born, a loved one passes, a natural disaster hits, the sick are healed or at certain times when we pray. We also have the Faith that an afterlife awaits where we will see our Shepherd face to face. Those rumblings are what make us more and more certain that something is indeed going on, and that God is up to it.

And this is precisely what our forerunners were commended for. Did they always have Faith? Did they sing hymns 24 hours a day? Did they fight and complain and insult one another? Did they ever wonder if God was real? Did they hold grudges? Keep score? Plant traps for enemies as well as friends?

They were completely, in every way, human. In fact, they were the first humans. And from the very beginning, they put their human-ness on display.

Abel brought God his offering because he had Faith. He focused not on the offering he was bringing and how good it would make him feel. His focus must have been on the Source of his Faith. That seems the only logical explanation for a subsistence herder to bring the fatted first born of his flock as an offering to his God -- even before anyone had handed down a single Law. It was his Faith the writer of Hebrews (probably Paul) commends.

And when Cain was reproved for his half-hearted offering, instead of accepting instruction, admitting fault and seeking to better recognize his Faith, jealousy and pride prodded him to murder the one who had outdone him.

Abel's blood "still speaks to us" because he had no Law, no covenant, no edict or dogma, just a sincere Love. And because he was not afraid to express that Love, however rough-hewn or fumbling, he was Approved.

Is that more heroic than comforting a child? Or visiting the elderly who have no family left? Or any other act undertaken simply because you Love the Author of your Faith?

I didn't think so. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Next up: Enoch.