Faith is an interesting concept. Is it real, imaginary or illusory? Does it change things or is it powerless? Is it here one minute and gone the next? In Jesus Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7, you find the word faith only once in addressing worry. So if faith is so important why didn’t Jesus use it more in his sermon?
These are great questions. When you look at the beatitudes in Matthew 5, the beginning of the sermon, you see the attitudes of faith displayed. When Jesus tells his followers to be salt and light, influencers in their culture, he is describing an active faith. Later in the sermon when he encourages them not judge others, he is showing them the tender side of faith so others can see God. Since only God is good enough and smart enough to judge, then we choose to grace people instead. Thus we take the plank of self-righteousness out of our own eye so we can help our friend see righteousness as found in Jesus. In this way display true faith.
At the end of the sermon Jesus uses three illustrations, a narrow and wide road, a good tree versus a bad tree and practicing and not just hearing the word of God. So he shows what it means to be a woman or man of faith. These are the people who take the narrow high road of reconciliation, bear the fruit of non-retaliation, and sacrifice for others by living the ideals of the sermon. It is not an easy road. Faith is very arduous like climbing a mountain. But the view from the top is spectacular because that view incorporates the world from God’s perspective.
So faith that is active, alive, affirming, aspiring and accepting is a genuine faith. It is a life-changing faith. It is a messy faith. It is a marvelous faith. It is an alarming faith. It is the faith that Jesus gives us.
