Once More...from Cleveland

"The burning of a little straw may hide the stars, but the stars outlast the smoke."

                                                                                                                            ~Voltaire

At times, every Christian may have a little smoke in their life which masks the One who made the stars - some more than others.
One of those 'smoky' times descended on my life once again, in the form of what seemed to be a growing tumor in my spleen.
And while we still pray for justness in God's mercy, regardless of the outcome, we will trust Him.

You see, one malfunction in a person's body, or in a relationship, or responsibilities - does this mean everything is out of order?
Do we really function that much like a computer? 
I don't think so because exercising faith in the present means trusting God to work through the events of our life, despite all the clutter, all the failures, and all the fallenness we've accumulated.

I've recently discovered that some psychologists use a technique called, 'Act As If' therapy. 
If you can't generate emotions and feelings of love for your spouse, then 'act as if' you do have those feelings and emotions. 
In short, it is easier to act your way into feelings than to feel your way into actions.

Unbelievably, this actually works at times.
Often, the change in one person will bring about a change in the other and each then begins to feed off of the other.

Faith is often this way as well.
What other explanation can there be for the old hymn, 'Trust and Obey?'
We often wish our faith was spurned out of a constant burning desire to please God; sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.
For example, Jesus commanded us to love one another; yet, I have found there are some Christians you just have to love from afar....sometimes really, really afar.

As Adrian Rogers use to say:

To dwell above 

With those we love,

That will be glory.

But to dwell below

With those we know,

Well, that's another story.

Whether it is health issues or relationship issues or issues concerning our faithfulness to God or faithfulness in other areas, I get to know God simply by doing His will on Earth.
It isn't any simpler that this...no Burning Bushes or Thunderbolts from the sky.

Simply put - if a person wants to know God they must ACT then they will SEE.

You see, faith requires obedience without full knowledge.
If I only trusted in CT Scans and Radiologists, trust would certainly be misplaced; human knowledge can only go so far, then faith must take over.
In faith, much lies beyond my finite grasp; we choose to trust God and accept the fact that my life depends on one thing more than anything else - God's Mercy.
So does yours.

You may wonder, in your relationship, in your medical condition, in your situation in life - 'What difference can one person's small effort make?'

A few years ago, PBS ran a series about the veterans of the Battle of the Bulge.
While the battle went on for over a month in the harsh winter of Belgium and Germany, the vets told of playing cards and various other activities.
None of them knew at the time that they were participating in one of the longest, most decisive engagements of the entire war.
To them, it didn't feel decisive - they couldn't see the big picture.

Our victories of faith are won the same way - for only God can see the entire picture of the universe from Creation until the Judgment and beyond.
Our task in life is to respond to what lies before us, in that moment, by our faith - even if at times we have to 'act as if' and then see the results much, much later.

Ignatius Loyola commented that he saw nearly all of his disciples go through a period of

futility. In like manner, every Christian will face a crisis which puts their faith and their loyalty to Christ to the test.
For some it will be an adulterous spouse, for others it will be cancer, for still others it may be an abusive parent - but whatever it may be in your life, remember the smoke can only obscure the stars for a little while.
Each star will shine again; the test of faith lies within the knowing they will shine again.


Faith can survive even the deepest of darkness; but only if we cling to it in the darkness itself.
The greatest musicians will tell us that their competency depends on practice; so does our faith. To practice our faith, it takes trials - smoke and darkness.

The Virgin Mary 'pondered' what the angel had told her; she 'pondered' what Anna spoke in the temple about her infant son's piercing in the future.
She 'pondered,' that's an interesting word because it means that she had things in her mind, though favored of God, she could not resolve within herself.
Mary, therefore, carried a tension within her faith, but rather than attempt to eliminate that tension - she trusted what she could not see.
We must do the same.

A great man of faith named John Bunyan, wrote the blessed work, 'Pilgrim's Progress.' 
For many years, 'Pilgrim's Progress' was second only to the Bible in readership.
In his work, a man named 'Christian' begins a journey to the Celestial City and he does what every Christian does in our time.
His journey is marked by meeting several different people along the way; some encourage, most don't.
Christian makes stupid, immature mistakes at times, some nearly kills him.
At one point, he contemplates suicide - Christian has a rough journey, but he makes it to the Celestial City in the end.

In today's faddish Christian section of bookstores or through electronic books, they are marked with self-help gurus, dawning sacred clothes presenting 'an easier way,' a 'better way' to living the faith.
There are holy diets, Christian problem-solving - simple pop-psychology wrapped in holy packaging.
And in my humble but accurate opinion, it tells me that we have lost something along our journey toward the Lord.

Here's the God honest truth...

- Life is difficult. God is merciful. Heaven is sure.
- Faith, therefore, must allow the possibility of joy in the midst of suffering as well as realism in the midst of praise.
- Christian love involves caring about people, and sometimes that means we must care about people that we'd really rather NOT care about.
By our nature we keep track of scores - love doesn't.
- Christian duty means we trust God, we obey God; understand later.
By definition, faith means trusting in that which we cannot yet prove.

And it means living by faith is trusting in advance what can only be seen in reverse.
For my faith, my action into feelings, have proven God faithful...Once More, in Cleveland.
May your faith do the same for you in your life.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.