True Faith

[arunangelo]

Faith is to believe what we do not see or we do not understand. It is like a little boy who believes everything his father tells him. He believes, because, he trusts his father. He trusts his father because his father loves him; and because, his father is his very own. This is how it should be between God and us. We therefore, should have faith in God by believing in everything He tells us, even when we do not understand it. To believe is to accept in our heart and to act according to what we accept. Therefore, to believe that God loves us is to accept is love in our heart by loving others the way He loves us. Similarly, to believe in His forgiveness is to forgive others the way He forgives us. Also, to believe in His mercy is to be merciful like He is. God showed His love for us by having mercy on us and forgiving us of our sins against Him by compensating for our offenses against Him by His life. We too to have to forgive our offenders of their offenses against us; by having mercy on them; and by compensating for their offenses by the sacrifices we make for them. Jesus therefore, tells us to (Luke 6:27-25) love our enemy, do good deeds to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us. If anyone slaps us on one cheek, we must let him hit the other one too. We must give to everyone who asks for something; because, God is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. We must be merciful, just as our Father is merciful (Luke 6: 35-36). We must remember that mercy triumphs over law (James 2; 13); and it is mercy, and not sacrifice, that God desires (Matt. 12:7). We must not take revenge on those who do us wrong. If someone takes us to court to sue us for our shirt, we must let him have our coat as well. We must walk an additional mile if the occupation forces ask us to carry their pack for one mile (Matt 5; 39-41). If anyone borrows something from us we must not ask for it back (Luke 6:27-30). We must be willing to lay down our life for others, including for those who cause us grave hurt; just as God in His Divine mercy sacrificed His life for us, although we gravely hurt Him (by our sins). This is what it means to have faith.