IN FAITH (continued)
“And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee” (Luke 18:42). “And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole ; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague” (Mark 5:34). “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt . And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (Matthew 15:28). “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour” (Matthew 8:13).
Here we have four of the great acts of healing by Jesus found in the gospels. In each of these the Master commends the recipient for his or her belief and faith and declares to them that it was by their faith that the healing was done. There are some in the churches that say that this, their faith, is what healed them; that if they did not have that faith that Jesus could not help them. This theme, of Jesus being unable to help because of the lack of faith of the people, is used by some to show Jesus was a man like us. It is used also in their speaking on the acts of Jesus in His own country where it is said that the people were offended at Him. Mark records that “he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them” (Mark 6:5) and Matthew says of the same instance: “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). In this teaching they are putting limitations on the Christ Jesus of whom the Apostle Paul says “for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9); this statement alone should show that there can be no limitation other than that imposed by the Master Himself.
Just before this last healing noted above was another healing by Jesus of a leper: “there came a leper and worshipped him, saying , Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean . And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3). In this healing there is no documentation of faith or of belief but a statement of certainty by the seeker of if thou wilt, thou canst. Other statements from the gospels regarding healing by Jesus are more commonly put as: “and the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all” (Luke 6:19) and also this “and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all” (Matthew 12:15); there are others that are similar.
So what should we take from this all? Is there a limitation on the Son of God? Is there a limitation on God Himself Who is one with the Son? I think not. So what do we say then; simply that Faith is, as we said prior, that power of knowing that comes from within and comes to us consciously when we realize that God IS and that He CAN and WILL do for us. This results in our believing that what we need here and now will happen. What do Jesus remarks mean in saying that their faith had healed? More than likely it says that without Faith these people who were healed and the crowds and the multitudes would never have come to Jesus for healing. If they did not believe that He could help them they would not have approached or asked. This is the Faith that they showed; that they believed that the healing power of God was in this man Jesus and that they could share in it?
We have been speaking in this series of knowing and this should not be confused with knowledge though this too is very important. Knowledge is a worldly thing which we gain by experience and by learning of a thing and which does make us to know about that thing. The knowing that is spoken of in regard to Faith however is much different although in our daily consciousness it may appear as the same which is that we know. The knowing that goes with Faith is Faith itself. As we read previously “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) and this is the key to understanding that this knowing is the form that Faith takes in conscious activity here and now. It is believing and more; it is the substance, the assurance, the confidence that God IS. Knowing is to so fully believe that there is no doubt whatsoever. When this knowing becomes our daily frame of mind, we are truly expressing that Faith that comes from the Inner Man, the Soul.
Now all things are by degree whether we speak of Light or of Faith or of Believing or of Knowing and it can be said that the degree experienced is directly dependent on the effort that we, as men and women, put forth. Those who go about their daily business and never give God any thought will exhibit little of Light or of Faith and will tend to the affairs of themselves and their families only. Then for one goes to church on Sunday and pays some attention there to the reality of life in God, a bit more Light and Faith will shine through their daily lives. And so this goes on by degree to those who attend more church, go to prayer meetings, read the bible daily, meditate, etc. The more one focuses on things of God the greater the degree of Light and of Faith and each of these aspects of our spirituality leads us to the other and leads us to into greater believing and understanding of our true nature; Spirit. Light and Faith are brought into consciousness by degree based on where we spend our time and our attention; on things above or on things below.
So we see that the objects of our attention dictate our state. Our focus, where we spend our energies and our time and our resources reflect in our daily expression and our state of mind. As men we have the ability and the constant opportunity to change our focus; to change what power should be able to control our lives and be displayed through our hearts, our personalities. Jesus tells us that “where your treasure is , there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34) which is to say that what is important to us in conscious activity will dictate where our hearts are and how we live.
The Apostle Paul spends much time on this theme as well and in one place says: For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6). Now in this verse carnal and flesh should be understood as things of this world; physical needs of every kind; the earthly nature of man. Here he is affirming the idea that where we place our attention, what is important to us, either leads us to the ‘death’ of living solely this material existence or the ‘life’ of living a spiritual life and investing in treasure in the Kingdom. In the words of the Master we have: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt , and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt , and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is , there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21) and in this saying by Jesus is the complete thought that we should have on this subject.
It may appear that we left our theme of Faith but we did not. The art of living spiritually is all inclusive; with it comes the Light and the Love and the Wisdom and the Faith which brings into manifestation through us the righteousness and the goodwill and the understanding and the believing that we need to make our lives on this planet successful and fruitful and of service to the Master and to God.
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end (Hebrews 3:14). This is the first time that a quote has been recycled but since I thought that it fit so well in this theme, I decided to use it again. In this quote of the day is found the Faith that is needed to bring the life of the Christ Within to expression in this world. Is there a better way this could have been said? Hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast so that once we see the Light or feel the effect of Faith that we should not turn back but we should stay with toward our goal which is to be part with Christ and to bring forth the Christ Within. Jesus reflects on this when He says also: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Be STEADFAST.
