The Goal of Our Faith

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth....

 

What is the goal of our belief?  What does it matter that we believe in God, the Father, the Creator?

If our purpose is to define what we believe only, as if we said, "I believe that George Washington is the father of our country," then why should we say it over and over again?  What difference does it make what we believe -- unless there is some further end to our belief?

 

In the Greek legends and myths, the gods walked the earth, unknown and unrecognized.  They had a glimpse of the truth, but unfortunately, in Greek mythology, man existed to serve the pleasure and comfort of the gods.  If the Greeks were hospitable to strangers, it was that they did not want  inadvertently to displease one of the gods, who may be appearing as a stranger in their midst.

 

If Jesus revealed to us the Father, He revealed God Almighty as the servant of mankind: the Son of man comes to seek and to save what is lost and to give His life as a ransom for many.  The Son of man comes to serve, not to be served.

 

It is true that God wants us to serve Him, but not until He has first served us.  The goal of our faith is the exchanged life.  Our God has entered this world, not like the Greek gods, wanting to be served, but to take up all the burdens of being human:  Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were hungry, thirsty, cold, and fearful during the days of their escape-journey from the mad Herod.  What they learned along the way was that God was there, with them.  He provided for their needs with the gifts of the Magi; the Essenes fed them in the wilderness, and they were protected from predators on the way.

 

God wants us to give Him our burdens so that He might give us His life in exchange for ours.  As someone on FB put it the other day:  breathe out fear; breathe in confidence.  Once we enter into the Trinitarian life of exchanged love, once we know we are loved and cared for, we, too, can learn to serve God and others as He does for us, moment by moment. 

 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth -- who has taken me ---me!--into His arms, Who walks with me -- me! --- daily; Who forgives all my sins and shows me the path of eternal life; Who re-arranges the atoms of the universe to serve my needs; Who teaches me through the Holy Spirit -- His own breath breathed into me; Who sent His only Son in the flesh to experience my -- my!-- life and to bring me home to the Father, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth.