By Lam Wai Chan, pastor at Nerima Church of God, Tokyo, Japan

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation… And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:1-2, 6 ESV). As Christians, we are often challenged for believing in an archaic book that teaches us to believe in a higher-being who created and transcends the natural order. And above all, those who profess to believing in the virgin birth and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are ridiculed for being a dinosaur in the modern scientific world. Such sentiments have long put pressure on the outworking of our faith by forcing us to prove the reasonability of what we believe in. Despite the detractors’ claim of the moral high ground of objectivity, it always ends up becoming a matter of subjective persuasion of who is right and, for the matter, who is wrong. Regardless, it is important for us to always take a step back and take stock of what our faith in God mean to us.

It is interesting that the revelation of God in the Bible is interwoven into human endeavour. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, it never bothers God that people doubt him or otherwise, but it is always about the response of people when they come into His sovereign presence. And those who put their lives on the line to hold on to their faith in God were rewarded with a life of divine purpose. It transcended personal edification and became a powerful testimony of God’s righteousness and love that created change in this broken world. To put it simply, our faith is about accepting that the Almighty God has the final say in all things and for us to make a decision to live and die by that conviction. And to that end, our Lord Jesus Christ has showed the way by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (c.f. Philippians 2:8).

As disciples of Christ, take heart in knowing that there is no need for us to convince or persuade others. We have nothing to prove. Our Lord Jesus has given us the divine call to continue his work in bringing the hope of eternal life in God’s kingdom to this broken world. Not everyone of us is called to be pastors or missionaries, but we can all choose to exercise faith in God and learn to bring his presence to wherever he may lead us. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter to our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV).