faith

An oxymoron is a phrase consisting of two words -- an adjective and a noun -- that contradict each other. "Small giant" and "stinky aroma" are some that come to mind. It has occurred to me that the phrase "blind faith" is also an oxymoron. Non-believers often see faith as a last resort in a troubled situation, a "state of mind" that helps to cope rather than a real solution to the problem. It is blind because it lacks real, tangible meaning; it is blind because because if the problem is a battlefield, faith is a handkerchief that one puts on her face, crossing her fingers and hoping that the enemy bullets would somehow change direction when they come to her.

Having gone through the biggest trial in my life so far, faith is the one thing that I have struggled the most to learn. To me, faith was an effort that I must contribute with my own strength to make miracles happen -- it is as if God is an elephant, and I must hold Him up with my skinny arms so that He won't fall and crush me! I knew that faith was necessary, crucial in my relationship with God, but like the non-believers, I was really blind in my faith and could not convince my intellect with full conviction exactly why I needed to have faith.

Just like many other lessons in life, the lesson of faith must be lived to be understood. One of the most-quoted verses regarding faith can be found in the Book of Hebrews: "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (11:1) Does this mean that we should close eyes, wish really hard (with fingers crossed) something we know in our guts that is impossible? Quite the opposite. Faith works by completely transforming a person inside out, tuning her to be in perfect harmony with her Maker. Faith does not cover eyes from reality -- instead, it allows us to see the true reality as God Himself sees it. Genuine faith allows us to see past the temporary troubles, past our ephemeral flesh, into the ultimate, ultimate reality.