Do I have faith?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"(Heb.11:1).

Faith is the belief in the unseen. Faith is the absolute certainty that your values are supported within your fabric of reality and that these same beliefs can be realized despite all evidence to the contrary. Faith defines our actions and influences the way we operate boldly in an uncertain world. It's because of faith in gravity that we saunter outside on a daily basis with the unshakable conviction that we won't float off into space. It’s because of faith in science that we transverse the air in great machines of metal without undue fear of crashing. And it’s because of faith that we drive to work everyday, navigating between automobiles that weigh tons yet all the while fully believing in the power of our traffic control systems to prevent a fatal accident.

Our beliefs are built on our faith. Our faith in the world of science justifies our belief in the knowledge that there are such things as germs, bacteria, viruses, despite the fact that many of us have never seen a germ or a virus ourselves. We have faith in our past elementary and high school teachers who first introduced us to the tiny lives of the one celled organism and we trust that their knowledge, as passed down to us in countless general science classes, are true.

Our beliefs shape our actions. Because of the belief in the harmfulness of germs we clean our homes, we wipe down our kitchen counters and we cook our raw meat. We don't eat off the ground, we don't reuse toilet tissue and we don't leave sewage in areas like our kitchens.

Our beliefs are grounded in the assumptions we make about the very nature of existence. Our beliefs even impact our definitions of morality, thus, those who believe that life begins at conception believe abortion is murder, while those who believe life begins at birth see abortion as of choice.

Our beliefs create a paradigm that in an irrefutable way structures our world and even dictates our emotional reactions to the world. If we are treated rudely we become upset yet there is no rule that demands that everyone must be treated with respect. We however have been raised in a paradigm that emphasizes a morality built on the notion of right and wrong and that speaks to even the most basic of behaviors such as manners and dress code. Most of us would not dare to wear a swimsuit to a funeral to mourn our loved ones yet again there are no laws that decree we dress in a certain way to express our grief. Thus, our beliefs impact the very lens by which we see and thus react to the world.

I went to church last Sunday and the minister preached about faith. There are many words that come to mind when we think about faith - trust, belief, confidence, or conviction. These words embody an internal state of hopefulness that is firmly rooted despite the negativity of others. Faith is the clearest definition of hope because our beliefs are filtered and developed by our hopes and our desires. Hope and Faith must coexist together because our hope is only as great as our faith. Without the certainty of faith, we cannot hope.

However, our faith is built on the foundation of evidence. We believe in gravity because all our evidence supports it – an apple falls down from a tree not up and if we eat raw meat we will most likely get sick. Thus, while we cannot see gravity, we see the proof of gravity everyday.

Not only is our faith based on the foundation of evidence it is also based on the appeals of truth. There is a strong sense of rightness when we consider the laws of nature – for instance, the world functions with a complexity that is awe-provoking. Our world was engineered to facilitate our survival – our relationship with the other living beings in this world are symbiotic and reciprocal; we exchange gases with trees; we find fuel from the earth; we obtain water from the very air that surrounds us. The surety of the existence of a higher power that designed a world for our very survival supports our faith and our conviction in truth.

Thus, while we have never seen God, we have seen his work and we trust in his existence. While we have never experienced first hand the creator in a physical and external way, we have faith, hope and trust in his reality and we operate on the world based on this hope. We celebrate his birth, we study his life and we mourn his death. We pray for miracles and we believe in the concept of heaven. We, who have not seen death, take comfort in the notion of the hereafter. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7).

There are so many things that I believe in. I believe in a clean home. I believe in ambition and hard work. I believe in the necessity of family and social interest. I believe in the power of music to change emotions and improve the mood. I believe in the resiliency of people to bounce back from trauma and adversity. I believe that most people are generally good and have good intentions.

But, do I believe in love?

Do I believe that I will find love - profound, inspiring, meaningful, powerful love - in my lifetime?

Does my lack of faith, also affect my ability to have hope?

And if I do not have hope, does it also mean that I do not believe that I deserve to be loved, completely, fully and earnestly?

Am I my own worst enemy?