I once knew a young boy who had faith.
When he was seven years old, his family moved to New Jersey, to a new town, to a new neighborhood. They knew nobody. But he knew God would find him new friends. How did he know? He had faith.
He knew during that hot, humid summer, when he and his family were living in one room above a garage, sleeping on mats and cooking on a camp stove; Dad was out of work and Mom was real sick, that they would always eat, he could sleep and that his family would always be together. How did he know? He had faith.
This boy knew that when Dad finally got a job, soon Mom would get better too. He had faith.
He knew that when they moved into that tiny, ramshackle, drafty, one bedroom house that leaked when it rained, that it was o.k. They would soon be better off. They would soon have enough room so as to not have to sleep in the living room. Why? He had faith.
And it was great when Dad found an old beat up silver trumpet for only $15 so his older brother could honk and squawk while practicing. He knew his brother would get better. He knew because he had faith - simple faith.
They started school that fall and he had a nice teacher with a funny name; and he was the best reader in class so it didn't matter that he lived in a ramshackle, leaky old house and wore mission-barrel clothes. Besides, his family had lots of fun together and you guessed it - he had faith.
And wouldn't you know it! Just as it was beginning to get colder in the fall, he and his family got to move into a much bigger house, with TWO bedrooms! And it even had a real bathroom with a real bathtub. And Mom was feeling lots better. But he wasn't surprised - 'cause he had faith.
Dad had been able to buy a real neat old car and lots of Christmas presents, three for each of them, even his first Bible with pictures in it. And he was so happy 'cause he had faith.
And when he used the saw from his new Christmas toolkit to cut a branch off the apple tree in the back yard, he knew Dad would get mad, but not for long - 'cause he had faith.
This little boy had "the inborn capacity to see God behind everything." (Oswald Chambers)
Then, this boy grew up. He began to do things himself. He started working real hard, earning everything. He felt it was his responsibility to see that he had nice things and a good place to live. After all, he had worked hard for all these things hadn't he?
He was still the best reader in his class but it was because he had worked at it. He became an athlete, worked out, ran, honed his skills, even lifted weights. He worked hard and "earned" what he had gained.
This boy worked hard at school, worked hard at his part-time jobs. After all, it was all dependent on him to get through school, to get ahead. He worked to develop his talents and even used them for God, for, of course his own selfish purposes. But hadn't he earned them? And weren't they dependent on his hard work?
He went on to college, working his way through, got a job, worked hard, got married. He began to accumulate things, bought a house, achieved success.
He was doing great when suddenly, he stopped. Or maybe he was stopped. He looked at his empty, religious, self-sufficient self and realized something. He had lost his faith.
No, not his saving faith of salvation. But the "look of faith;" looking to God, trusting God, depending on God. It was realizing that in and of himself, he could really do nothing.
The primary purpose of our journey through the joblessphere, is to help us once again "find" our faith. Remember, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." It is the "inborn capacity to see God behind everything, the wonder that keeps you an eternal child."
So, what ever happened to the little boy in our story? The one who grew up. The one that began to live as a practical atheist? The one who lost his faith?
Well, he found it again. And I'm still struggling with it. It's hard to realize that faith comes from God and there's nothing I can do to obtain it. I still try hard to do things on my own and to explain everything as if it were something I did or didn't do and that's why.
But I'm learning, especially in my journey through the joblessphere, that God is behind and in everything. In one sense, I am trying to return to my childhood and once again experience that simple, childlike faith.
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