From the Pastor - June 2017

As the summer solstice approaches, it is exciting to see things growing all around us.  One of the songs in The United Methodist Hymnal makes an analogy of faith to growth in nature:

“Faith, while trees are still in blossom,

plans the picking of the fruit;

Faith can feel the thrill of harvest

when the buds begin to sprout.”¹ 

In the spring, when I see blossoms on my apple tree, I anticipate that apples will be growing on the tree.  My hope for apples in the fall is based on the reliability of natural processes. 

Likewise, faith is trusting in God because God is faithful.²  Whereas God’s trustworthiness does not depend on our faith in God, our trust in God depends on God’s faithfulness.  

Jürgen Moltmann suggests that faith emerges from our being born to a new life in the Holy Spirit.  We do not generate this faith from within ourselves.  It is founded on the faithfulness of God and never forsakes us.  It is eternal and indestructible.  As Paul puts it: ‘He will sustain you to the end.”³

Having faith in God is not an all-or-nothing proposition, however.  Faith is something that can and should grow.  Moltmann talks about faith growing through various stages of life. 

First, there is child-like trust in God.  Second, there is youthful searching and questioning.  Third, there is adult faith that takes responsibility.  Fourth, there is the wisdom of mature faith.³ 

He notes that different experiences of life influence faith.  Conversely, faith influences our experiences of life.  He says: “It is dreadful if faith stands still at any point and is never developed any further.” ⁵

Where are you in your faith journey?  Are you stuck in the sentimentalism of child-like trust?  Does skepticism keep you caught in adolescent questioning?  Have you moved to greater responsibility as an adult by contributing to the health and strength of the church?  Are you sharing the wisdom of your faithfulness to help others grow?

Often we think of summer as a time for vacation, but it is also the most intense time of growth.  It can be that way for your faith, too. 

Yours in Christ,

 Rev. Dr. Brian C. Smith

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¹ V. Earle Copes, "Faith, While Trees Are Still in Blossom," in The United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, TN: United Methodist Publishing House, 1989), 508.

² Karl Paul Donfried, "Faith," in The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996), 326.

³ 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, RSV.

⁴ Jürgen Moltmann, The Source of Life: The Holy Spirit and the Theology of Life, 1st Fortress Press ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997), 33-34.

⁵ Ibid, 34.