the disturbing disappearance of faith

"Abram believed the LORD and it was credited to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6

i've found that in today's world there is a disturbing lack of real faith in God.

and i don't just mean in the secular world, i mean in the church.

let me ask you this:

which do you place your faith in: God or the scriptures?

yes, i realize these often overlap. and yes, i agree that scripture is the word of God. but it is the word of God spoken through certain men to specific people in specific places at specific times. it is enlightened and holy, but only in light of these facts.

in order to know the true will and Person of God, it is important to know the context of these--His--words. the God behind the words is more important than the words themselves.

but i'm afraid we're losing that.

and i would like to know when the church got off telling people that God can only make His will known through the written word.

for the duration of His earthly ministry, Jesus was continually praising children for their faith and instructing His disciples to be more like children in their thinking with regard to His teachings and the Law.

let me ask you this: can children read?

(especially in that day and age?)

. . . no.

so then, if children can find the will of God, then it has to be as apparent outside of the Bible as it is inside.

it has to be evident in His creation, in the world around us.

when Jesus wanted to confirm the plan of His Father before His death, did He roll open a torah scroll and read? no. He went to a garden. He immersed Himself in creation itself: the most evident of His Father's works, visible to everyone.

Jesus did this--withdrawing into nature--repeatedly through the course of His life, as did the prophets before Him, who received the word of the Lord in caves and on mountains as far back as moses and the forefathers. john the baptist even lived in the wilderness.

do you ever think how easy it must have been for abraham? imagine being able to listen to God without having to filter Him through 3,000 years of tradition and opinion. did he have a bible to read? no, but he had a heart willing to listen and obey. and he trusted so much in the Person of God that he was willing to sacrifice his son.

imagine being able to have that sort of blind faith and trust.

you can. just listen.

open your heart and mind to hear the Voice, and when you think you have heard God speak, then go to the Bible to see if what you heard lines up with the Person that the written words describe.

and in that way you will find the true will of God.