“My faith is very important to me.” How many times have we heard that said? I hear it dozens of times…and it usually means something very different than what we think it means.
For most people, “faith” is a collection of symbols and rituals that hold sentimental value. Ashes on the forehead, a baptism, lighting a candle in church, saying a quick “Hail Mary” before a basketball game.
All of that is fine – but it’s all just window dressing without the core. Our faith is not a set of symbols and rituals but an encounter with a Person, Jesus Christ, and a personal decision to follow Him. As such, faith (in Him) is the center of our very being, life-changing, radical. What a contrast to those who claim some ambiguous faith! At the high school where I used to serve as chaplain (Trinity High School), they spoke a lot about “faith” in this amorphous sense – it was just life-as-usual with a prayer thrown in.
Do not be fooled by people (and institutions!) who claim to love their faith if it only involves symbols and rituals and sentiment. This is cheap grace (to borrow Bonhoffer’s term) compared to the richness and challenge of real faith – faith in a Person, who calls us to come and follow Him.
Photo: Thomas Vitali, Unsplash / PD-US
