We all go to bed at night with faith in God that we will get up the following day. The same is true of everything we do in life. We leave for work in the morning knowing only in faith that we will return to our families in the evening; our children go to school and we trust in God that they will unite with their parents and siblings when the school ends for the day. Those who travel or are in the transport business believe in faith that their journey will be safe and sound. Couples get married and trust in God that their marriage will turn out well. You notice that in these and other numerous instances, we rarely think about this faith; we simply take it for granted. At the close of the day, we say to each other, “see you tomorrow”, as if it is certain that we will see tomorrow. Our faith in God permeates through everything we do whether we consciously think of God or not. The truth is this: we live constantly with the known unknown in our everyday life. That which is known is that anything can happen to us; that which is unknown is the what, when and the how! It is God who holds together the known and the unknown in our lives, and guides everything and each life to its destiny.
It now should make sense to you that the only way we can live with the known unknown in our lives is through FAITH in God. We may argue about it or pretend we are so smart as to predict everything in our lives and in our world. Yet, no one can live without faith. Faith makes us humble because it helps us recognize and admit our limits, and shun any form of arrogant pretentiousness. It is this faith in God that makes us not take the knowns in our life for granted; and it frees us from those fears that often threaten our walk towards the unknown. Faith in God gives us a more realistic form of confidence, which should be distinguished from foolhardiness and narcissistic arrogance. It is the confidence we feel even in the midst of all troubles and tribulations that God’s will always is the best for us. With this confidence, we can go forward in life, knowing that we are held firmly by Our Father’s hand.
It is this unshakable faith that sees the unknown and embraces it even before it comes to pass. This is the faith of Abraham, the patriarchs and the saints who, in faith, saw and believed the guidance of God, even when what they hoped for was not fulfilled as they expected. When Abraham was asked to leave his homeland for a land God would show him, he left his familiar environment and plunged into the unknown with his faith in God as the only guiding light! He did not live to see how his children would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (Gen. 12); and Sarah his wife did not know how she could become pregnant in her old age (Gen. 17:17). Moses only saw the Promised Land from afar (Deut. 34:1-5). Think of the missionaries who embarked on very dangerous journeys not knowing what awaited them. Their confidence was in the guiding hand of God.
Faith is a plunging into the unknown with the confidence that God is with us. If only we could be more conscious of this reality in our everyday life! This faith is what Jesus asks us to have in the face of the ultimate unknown – death! We should not fear death; we only have to be prepared for we do not know when and how it will come. But no matter when or how, we know in faith that God’s hand holds us firmly and will lead us to him. May we live ever more consciously of the guiding hand of God in our lives. Amen