Ambitious Faith
Elton Trueblood (yes, that is his real name) coined an interesting definition
and description of "faith" which I would like to share with you because I think
it says a lot.
"Faith is trust in a fundamental meaningfulness which is not wholly proved and
presumably will not be wholly proved in our finite existence, but which makes
more sense out of our puzzling world than does any conceivable alternative."
Faith is often called belief, and it is that, but it is more than that. It is
also trust. Faith is not belief in spite of evidence to the contrary, but trust
in light of abundant, though not conclusive, positive evidence.
Faith is not something which dispels all darkness and answers all questions but
that which looks at he evidence and travels toward the brightest of the
available lights.
Will I ever prove absolutely that God exists? Not on this lifetime.
But living by faith make the most sense, based on what I do know and considering
all the other alternatives. It is with this conviction that I live my life, and
await final prove beyond this world. Faith creates within the believer the
ambition to please God.
6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing
that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord --
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight --
8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body
and to be at home with the Lord.
9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be
pleasing to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:6-9
By Jon W. Quinn
The Final Page 18.3
From Expository Files 18.3; March 2011
