Going Boom Without Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1 ESV)



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 11:6 ESV)


My son is about a year and a half old. He is beginning to talk a bunch. I told him three days ago that the object in my pocket was a screwdriver. He looked at it, and played with it a while, and put it back in my pocket. I came home yesterday and he looked in my pocket and said "do-di-der," which is screw-dri-ver.

I told him that the thing he was looking at was called a screwdriver. He believed me. He didn't believe me that it existed, because he saw that it did. He simply believed me that the thing had a name, and it is called a screwdriver.

Yesterday we were all in the kitchen, except for my son. My wife walked out in the living room and saw my son sitting on a table in the living room. The table was right next to the staircase railing. He could have easily fallen over the railing and down 12 steps. I pulled him off the table and told him of the consequences that would happen if he would have gone "boom" down the steps. He looked at me like he was not very convinced that would happen to him.

Both instances my son was called to have faith in something I was telling him. The first thing (the screwdriver) he gave evidence of his faith by reciting to me at a later date the name of the thing. He remembered it and I trust he will continue to believe the name of the thing is a screwdriver. But the second thing I was telling him he could not see. I was describing a thing (a circumstance that would happen if he fell) that he had not witnessed. He did not see it happen. I was calling him to have faith in a thing he could not see.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the assurance and conviction of things I can not see. I am told things exist that my eyes can not lay hold of. I am unable to see God, yet I am called to believe that He exists. I am called to place my faith in the words of Scripture. Like my son is called to have faith in my words that he would be hurt if he went boom down the steps. I am called to trust what the Bible says is true, even though I may not see it for myself.

If I do not believe God's words are true, I am like my son, leaning over the railing, smiling back at me and saying "no go boom down stairs."