Faith is typically defined by the religious as a means of interpreting reality. They choose a set of rules to govern their lives from a plethora of ideas and opinions and then seek a group of people with similar beliefs and interests. Their opinion of God is usually a system of established principles, and tragically, many disregard the exploration of depth or passion for intimacy. God is static and the people remain unchanged, but still religious. When faith is merely a mode and method of tolerating life rather than living it, there is little wonder why many youth and young adults reject the faith of their fathers.
They rebel against convention, making their declaration of independence from the deadness of what they inherited. Today, the hearts of many are challenged to believe that there has to be something more than this mediocre expression of religion. Unfortunately, their faith often causes them to turn inward to ambition and self-delusion. “If there is nothing out there to believe in, then I must believe in myself,” has become the requiem of today’s generation. Movements toward a belief that God dwells within every human have deceived many into believing that there is no God.
Jesus came to introduce us to a new enterprise and prove to us that we are not God. His perfection did more than the law could ever do. The law exposed the defects of fallen humanity as the result of Adam’s transgression, thus proving that God is not within every man. Jesus, the perfect, human model, came to lead humanity in a new direction. Through His life and ministry, He demonstrated to us that there is a way back to God, but not without a price. It would require the death to self rather than the assertion of the self-life, for He lived to show us what was possible and He died to make it so. All are affected by His coming and those who reject Him must reckon with Him because now the path has already been paved. The dissatisfaction among many today generate from the facts of His existence. He lived, He died, and He was raised from the dead.
One would either have to accept it or reject it and none can remain neutral now that the enterprise has been introduced. Those who may even choose the wrong path are in search for something that is real. Until they see Christ among His people, living His life within believers, there will be a discomfort among the searching and a disappointment among the satisfied. Religion alone will not resolve the deepest pains within the soul. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” is the antidote to dead religion and wanton living. It is His life lived through us and empowering us that gives human existence its truest meaning. Our faith should not be random in search for an object or a person to believe in. It is to be directed towards the object of faith that leads to eternal life, Jesus Christ.
