By Joelle Tan
Beginning a relationship and friendship with someone new is never easy. It is difficult enough to build a relationship with a real, tangible person, what more with a God who seems intangible and invisible? It is definitely difficult to believe, but the real truth is that the Lord is close to you and He loves you. Having faith is simply a response to the love that Jesus shows us when He dies on the Cross for us. It is an intentional choice to choose to believe and follow Jesus even when everything else tells us not to. As St. Paul writes to the Galatians, “and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). We see that faith in God begins when we recognise that Jesus loves us intimately and immensely.
We often start to believe in Jesus because we have seen or encountered the Lord in our lives or in the lives of others. It is easy to believe in something, but not have faith in it. However, starting to believe in Jesus is one of the first steps of growing in faith. So… what exactly does it mean to have faith in Jesus? CCC26 states that, “faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life.” Simply put, to have faith is to respond with trust when the Lord’s Goodness is revealed to us in moments when we encounter Him. Responding to the Lord in faith also suggests taking action to make a change in our life. With faith in the Lord, we begin to centre our whole life on Jesus after we witness His Goodness and Mercy.
As we continue to grow in faith and relationship with the Lord, we begin to be transformed. Our hearts grow to desire to do what Jesus desires and to see the world as He does. We are able to recognise His goodness and mercy, and can trust in His plan of goodness for our lives. Situations that once seemed a lost cause, now have new light shed on them through the eyes of faith. As we journey towards being united with Him in Heaven, we become challenged to take courage and lean on Him. Living a life of faith in Christ means trusting the Lord to lead us through the difficult moments, and trusting in His Presence through our lives.
Despite all this, it is important to acknowledge that growing in faith and relationship with God can sometimes be a struggle. Doubts and questions arise easily the moment that something goes wrong. We start to question the Lord and it is tempting to think that because of this, our faith is worthless or insufficient for the Lord. But, Jesus does not belittle our faith. He tells His apostles, “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt 17:20). The Lord knows just how human we are, and how easily it is for us to be shaken by the circumstances in our lives. But, just as the Lord says, little faith allows us to move mountains unimaginable. By relying on the Lord and choosing to cling to faith in difficult seasons, the Lord will surely show us that nothing is impossible!
