Faith in April Fool's Day

Dan Phillips at Pyromaniacs had an interesting article about a man who broke up a robbery because he thought it was April Fool’s Day. Phillips brings out that if you were just watching the video camera at the bank you would have thought that this man was performing a feat of bravery.

Think of it. Why was Stewart so calm and so brave? Well, really, he was calm; but he wasn't brave, exactly, was he? Stewart was calm because of his faith. Stewart believed that it was all just an April Fool's hoax. No bravery required.

But here's the thing: he was wrong! He was just (what most folks would call) lucky. If there'd been a gun, we wouldn't be chuckling. Nor would Stewart.

Phillips goes on and ties this event in with James 2:14…

Say it's not Stewart we're watching without sound. It's you. It's me.

Can you tell what we believe, and why? The things we spend the most time on, feel the most strongly about, invest the most of ourselves in — what do they say about our faith? Our priorities, our goals, our rules of engagement — looking at them, what do we believe?

Do we live boldly, confidently, riskily, like people who believe they have a loving, giving, kind, sovereign Father who has dealt fully and finally with all their sins, forever, in Christ? Think of the roll-call of faith in Hebrews 11, and the amazing feats accomplished by people who really, truly believed in the Word of God. Do we live like people who believe that His word is our law, for our thoughts and choices and affections?

Phillips definitely brings up some interesting points. I would like to amplify one point he makes at the end of the post. Faith is not just belief; biblical faith is belief in action. Whenever the Bible speaks about faith is has this implication. Therefore when we define faith we should include action in our definition. Faith without action isn’t really faith.

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Anchor and Faith?

All of us have beliefs and opinions, and each effects us in some way. Christianity is different though. If taken to its logical conclusion, the effect of Christianity should influence every area of life. It effects your time, pleasures, goals, etc… Because of this far-reaching effect, everyone at some time has this thought: what if this isn’t true?

C. Michael Paton explains what he does at these times...

When we have doubt, skepticism, and moments of weakness in our faith (and we all do), we search for a place to go, for solid footing somewhere. I often lay my head down on my pillow at night and have a fleeting thought, “What if none of this is true? What if I am wasting my time? What if Jesus is not real? What if God does not exist?” This will normally come after a day of discouragement. When bills are not getting paid, when I have spent the day with my invalid mother, or when I just don’t feel too spiritually connected to God. The thought is “fleeting” not because I suppress it to the back of my mind in order to live in a state of cognitive dissonance, closing my mind and shouting at the doubt in Jesus’ name, but precisely because I intentionally place it at the front of my mind. I want to deal with it. And in dealing with it, there are many things that quickly drown out the doubt, or at least the most significant part of it. There is an anchor to my faith that won’t let me drift.

I think that each one of us needs to be balanced in regard to this, seeking to find many anchors in many places. For example, my primary anchor is the historicity of resurrection of Christ. I am not just saying this to appear academic. It truly is. My doubts quickly fade when I think to myself, “Oh yeah, Christ rose from the grave. What do I do with that?” I look at all of the evidence for the resurrection as objectively as possible and I cannot conclude anything other than that this event actually happened. To deny it, opting for some possible yet improbable alternative, would be an irresponsible use of my reason and judgment. The evidence is simply overwhelming. This anchors my faith more than anything else.

For me, that fleeting question is a matter of God’s existence and not of Christianity. The first though that usually comes to mind centers on the cosmological argument(s) (at its simplest form it states that everything could not come for nothing).

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:20)

I’ll back it up with Scripture in case I get accused of a lack of faith. Anyway, what is your first thought when that question comes to your mind?

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