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“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV).

Well that pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? When we have faith we’re believing in something that we don’t necessarily see.

The definition gets more specific when we specify that we’re talking about Christian faith. My Dictionary of Theological terms defines it as, “belief, trust, and obedience to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. It is the means of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) or eternal life (John 6:40). Faith affects all dimensions of one’s existence: intellect, emotions, and will.”

That makes faith sound a lot harder than just saying “yep, I believe in Christ” - and it is! Faith is not an easy thing. It’s not just believing in the facts of Jesus’ coming to earth, dying, and being raised again to save us from our sins; there are elements of trust and obedience that go along with that. Faith is not only believing the facts of what Jesus did for each of us, but it’s also trusting that because of that, God loves us and will make good on His promises. And because of that great love for us, we need to be obedient to what God asks us to do as His followers.

The next part of the definition is even more convicting - “Faith affects all dimensions of one’s existence: intellect, emotions, and will.” Ouch! Really think about that - does your faith affect ALL dimensions of your existence? Is everything you do in every moment of every day directed by your faith in Jesus Christ? We’d probably all like to think so, but at least with me I know that’s not the case. There are many times I make decisions and choices out of my own knowledge rather than out of my faith in Christ. I let my own intellect take over rather than the intellect of Christ which I have access to through faith. I let my own emotions take control and follow my own will, rather than what Christ would have me do.

What is your faith like? Does it invade every aspect of your life, or is it that thing you pick up each Sunday morning when it’s time for church, or whenever it’s time for Bible study? Read the verses surrounding the Scripture passages referenced above and take a good, hard look at your faith this week. If it’s not up to where it should be, spend some time in prayer to ask God to give you a stronger faith in Him.