Why do we have hope?
When that theoretical person stops you on the street to ask you a random math problem - you know, the one your teacher always warned you about - what if they asked you why you have hope? What would you say? Or would you just do what most people do and ignore them, maybe putting your earbuds in for insurance?
… if someone asks you about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. - 1 Peter 3:15
So, what do we explain? Our modern society has so drastically compartmentalized our lives - much like the Greek philosophers complaining about the clock carving up their days - that our racial, political, economical, and religious identities have been ripped apart. This has given rise to the meaningless disparities between religion and faith. We talk about our Christian faith (or Catholic faith for some) or the Islamic faith, but we aren’t referring to faith but to religion. A better way to phrase this might be “Christians, people of faith,’ rescuing the word from modernity and Enlightenment alterations.
But what is faith?
Like hope, it functions as a good, Christian female name. Joy, too. Oh, wow. Back on topic, faith in English often refers to a confidence, hope, or as modernity has defined it, blind trust. Hope and faith are often tossed around, juggled in conversation to the point where is seems confusing to separate the two. We shouldn’t pull them apart by any means, but it could be helpful to better understand their relationship.
Looking to the Hebrew Scriptures, we find the word Emunah which could mean firmness, steadfastness, or fidelity. That seems a little strange, so how did this word come to be associated with faith? In the Exodus narrative, the writer speaks of Moses outstretched arms over a battle with the Amalekites.
… Thus, his arms were steady (enumah) until the sun set - Exodus 17:12
Interesting. The psalms speak to Yahweh’s faithfulness to Israel in response to the covenant made with Abraham. Psalms 89, in particular, is loaded.
I will make known Your faithfulness (emunateka) with my mouth - Psalms 89:1
To these writers, Yahweh is the faithful one. Thankfully for Israel, he was the only active party during the Abraham covenant, giving Israel hope that no matter what they did, Yahweh would remain steadfast in his love and commitment. Hosea speaks to this faithfulness language very explicitly in his writings, comparing Israel to an unfaithful partner.
In steps Jesus, the awaited king to which we now put our faith in due to God’s own faithfulness to us.
The unnamed writer of the letter to the Hebrews defines this faith for us at the beginning of the famous “hall of faith” passage.
Faith (pistis) is the confidence [or substance] of things hoped for; the conviction [or evidence] of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1
Pistis is our Greek word for faith, and it comes loaded with meanings of trust, confidence, or belief. So here, the writer is giving us a multifaceted picture of faith, especially if you look across different Bible translations. Faith is a confidence in Jesus, not just a belief (thinking the proper thoughts) but a trust in who he said he was. We have seen the invisible God become visible (Col. 1:15) and this conviction drives us to trust in God and his rescue mission and to now take part in that mission. Ya know, thy kingdom come and all. But faith is more than just trust and the work that comes with it.
Faith is the bedrock of our hope. The substance. Faith is the experience of our hope, both intellectual and emotional. We know that Jesus is who he says he was from testimony and history. We don’t blindly trust in a Hebrew teacher that just showed up on the scene 2000 years ago. We only know of most of the Greek and Roman world through a few medieval manuscripts. We know about Jesus and his radical new way to be human from hundreds of sources dating back to the 2nd century (some would even say the 1st). You aren’t stupid because you trust Jesus. You’re simply following the evidence. From that, we experience his love through the Spirit - you know that feeling. The spine tingle you get when your favorite worship song hits home. The joy of helping others in their time of need. Seeing the ocean or standing next to a mountain, knowing the one who made them. And this faith now brings us into a family:
The real children of Abraham, then, are the ones who put their faith (pistis) in God - Galatians 3:7
And so this Advent season, we delight in our faith. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or hide. It is the foundation on which our hope is built, and our faith is built on the promised one. Jesus - the result of God’s faithfulness to his people, to come and dwell among us. Trust him Lean into him. Not just with your mind; not just with your feelings.
Rather, trust him,
… with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. - Deuteronomy 6:5
