Faith

Faith, a photo by Liquid Kiwi on Flickr.

Mark 9

How do we learn to have faith?

We learn to have faith by trusting in God who reveals 'the mystery of the faith' (1 Timothy 2:9, KJV) through the events that take place in our lives, just as our spiritual fathers put their trust in Him who had delivered them (Psalm 22:4-5).

In Mark 9:2, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him and leads them up a high mountain. They see Jesus transfigured. That's quite an experience! I bet they could never ever forget that. And that was so personal. Only three human beings on earth in the entire history experienced it. Some of us know about this because they first experienced it and told others about it. It is now a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that enlightens our faith.

When Jesus takes us and leads us up a high mountain, leaving everyone else behind, we follow Him, expecting that He has something enlightening to show us. Something that we will never be able to forget. The more we see those things in personal settings, the stronger our faith grows.

Faith grows (2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 10:15). And it thrives when it is with a person who demonstrates the power of faith such as Moses, Elijah, and, of course, Jesus. Faith empowers faith. When we hand out with a man or a woman of faith, it rubs off on us.

We should learn from Joshua who did not leave the tent where a friend of God had frequented (Exodus 33:11) and from Elisha who stuck to a man of God no matter what (2 Kings 2).

We have faith, not because it just fell out of the blue, but because it has been passed on. Without those who went before us, we do not even exist.

We do well, then, to honor them and receive the empowering faith with gladness.