Why Faith?
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1 Peter 3:13
If someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to
explain it (v.15).
In an interview, pop music star Katy Perry stated that
she wasn’t thrilled with her strict religious upbringing.
“I didn’t have a childhood,” she lamented. “I’ve
always been the kid who’s asked ‘Why?’ In my faith,
you’re just supposed to have faith. But I was always like
. . . why? At this point, I’m just kind of a drifter . . . open
to possibility.”
Not having been there, I can’t comment on Katy’s
upbringing and what she didn’t like about it. But her
words are telling: In my faith you’re just supposed to
have faith. To that, I pose a Katy-like question: Why? For
faith simply in faith is an empty pursuit. But faith in Jesus
is something real and life-changing.
Here’s why: To have faith in faith leads to trusting in
something that lacks substance. It’s like clinging to a
climbing rope for safety, but then discovering that it’s
simply falling to the ground—not tied above or anchored
below. True Christian faith, however, is confidently
believing in Someone—Jesus.
The apostle Peter told his readers, who were suffering
for their faith, to “always be ready to explain” their
“Christian hope” (1 Peter 1:15). He had walked with
Jesus, watched Him perform miracles, witnessed His
death on a cross for his sins, and spent time with Him
after He rose again from the grave. Peter possessed a
rational, reasoned belief.
That belief—that faith—is what we can possess. Not grasping for an
unsecured rope, we firmly hold on to the One who has shown Himself to be
trustworthy and true. We believe, as Peter wrote, that “Christ suffered for our sins
once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring [us] safely
home to God” (v.18). Now that’s Someone to have faith in!
—Tom Felten
more›
Check out Hebrews 11:1 and 1 Peter 1:8, noting what the writers reveal
about real faith.
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Why is it important to truly know what you believe? How is faith
in Jesus something secure—unlike gripping an unsecured rope?
the afters - life is beautiful (official music video from october baby) from fairtradeservices on godtube.
