When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”(Mark 2:5)

Jesus saw their faith.

We think of faith as an attitude, intangible and invisible, something we feel or we don’t.

We cannot see faith. But the Lord Jesus Christ does. He sees faith. He can tell in an instant whether faith is present and if it is the real thing.

Now, let’s clear up one thing right up front: Everyone lives by faith. Everyone. The fiercest agnostic and most confirmed atheist share this in common with believers: we all live by faith.

We demonstrate faith every time we board a plane. We do not know the designers or builders, the mechanics, pilots or air controllers. Yet, without checking their credentials, we hand our boarding pass to the agent and walk on and strap ourselves in, fully expecting to get to our destination. Faith.

When church is over Sunday, many of us will go to a restaurant. Dining out is a supreme act of faith. Where was the food grown and how? How was it prepared and by whom?

We live by faith.

The big questions, therefore, are not whether we have faith, but in whom we have faith and where is the evidence that we do?

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So much of what the Bible says about the Lord is given to strengthen our trust in Him.

Unless we trust Him, we will not turn to God from all those other ways, commit ourselves to Him instead of all those other choices, and, ask Jesus into our lives as our Savior, obey Him as our Lord, and begin to take His promises seriously.

This is simple, bedrock logic. Unless I trust you, I will not ask you to babysit my children. Unless I trust the FAA and the system in place to guarantee airline safety, I will not board a plane. Unless I trust the other drivers, I will not venture onto a two-lane highway where we whiz by one another at high speeds. I will go to no doctor or pharmacist I have reason to distrust.

Trust is everything.

When we begin looking for the culprit on why millions of God’s people are not following the basic commands of the Lord–not seriously praying, not sacrificially giving, not boldly witnessing, and not confidently facing the enemy or launching faith ventures for Him–we can lay it all to a failure to trust.

Lack of trust is everywhere.

You can see lack of trust in the Lord by the fright that seizes our hearts when we contemplate tithing our income to Him and decide against it.

You can see a lack of trust in Him by our inner struggle against walking down the road and ministering to our neighbor and our choice to stay inside by the fire and watch tonight’s ball game.

Our refusal to step forward inside a church building and confess Christ as Savior and Lord, our embarrassment over being baptized, our unwillingness to give up some immature habit or unneeded possession the Holy Spirit has fingered that needs to be jettisoned–are all evidence of a failure to trust God.

When the Lord Jesus began preaching in Galilee, trust was a major theme.

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We all have our pet peeves. This is one of mine: People who excuse themselves from obeying the Lord or doing difficult tasks that would require them to stretch because, “I’m shy” or “I’m just not able to do that.”

Get over your shyness, friend. There is no place for shyness in the Kingdom of God, not if you’re planning on being obedient to the Master.

The Lord is going to be asking from you things you cannot easily do, and you will be forced to decide whether to give in to your reserve or to obey Him. You will not be able to do both.

The Lord will ask you to step out of the crowd and confess Him. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked, and called a woman to step forth and admit that it was she who had stretched out the hand of faith to the Savior (Mark 5:31).

For some of us, that means responding to the invitation at church next Sunday morning and stepping forward, into the aisle, to publicly affirm that Christ is our Savior and Lord.

The Lord will ask you to go into your world and confess Him. He said, “You shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Judea….” (Acts 1:8).

He said, “Whoever confesses me before men, him the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:9).

He may ask you to suffer for Him. “Beware of men,” Jesus said, “for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues” (Matthew 10:17).

Clearly, if one’s natural shyness is dominant, if it keeps us from letting others around us know of our commitment to Christ, if it silences us when to speak out would be costly or hard, our discipleship is going to suffer.

I’m only a Baptist preacher, let me admit here, and not a psychiatrist with insights into human personalities and psyches. So, what follows is not the last word on this subject, but if it moves the discussion along and helps someone to leave their cubicle of withdrawal for Jesus’ sake, it will be worth the effort.

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Do you ever read a newspaper article that ticks you off?

In this morning’s USA Today, a full page is devoted to what they call “the Well-Being Index.” A beautiful 50-year-old skinny lady named Mary Claire Orenic is shown stretching yoga-like in front of a lush garden area. The caption across the top of the article asks, “Is this America’s happiest woman?”

She might be. I hope she is. However, not enough information is given for the reader to make that determination.

What information is given? What is the “Well-Being Index?”

I’m glad you asked.

It’s divided into three sections: Work, Health, Relationships.

Under “Work,” some of the ideals are: a college degree with some grad school; professional or executive class, and a family income of $120,000.

You didn’t finish high school? and you make considerably less than that? Sorry. You can’t be as happy..

Under “Health,” ideals are–and this is good–excellent physical and emotional health, BMI (body mass index) under 30 (30 and above is obese), and you exercise for 30-45 minutes at least 6 days a week.

Too bad if you are overweight or skinny and don’t belong to a gym. Can’t be happy.

Under “Relationships,” ideals are “married and never divorced,” 2 children (“Gives birth between ages 27-36); no caregiving for young children or sickly parents, in-laws or spouse; has 4-12 intimate friends.)

You have to take care of elderly parents or a handicapped child? Sorry, Charlie. Your happiness potential just tanked.

You can see why I did not care at all–not at all!–for this little exercise.

Now, to be fair, I imagine the author–well-known writer Gail Sheehy–would say she did this to spark the very kind of discussion we’re having here. That she didn’t mean it to be the final word on the subject.

Good thing. Because it ain’t nearly the final word.

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An article in a recent TIME magazine looked into why people invest in self-destructive ways. I read it and thought, “They do all kinds of self-destructive things–from the way they invest to how they eat and vegetate on the couch and express their anger on the highways to neglecting their spiritual lives.”

“What Was I Thinking?” is the title of the TIME (October 4, 2011) article, written by Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich. Subtitle: “Why we often have trouble acting in our best financial interests.”

I was hooked by the title.

According to the authors, people are willing to walk several blocks to save $25 when buying an item selling for, say, $100. However, if the purchase is in the neighborhood of this time, say, $900, they are unwilling to walk the same distance to save the same amount of money. Why?

The answer lies in the field of “behavioral economics,” a relatively new area of study which considers how and why people make financial decisions. Since people often behave irrationally, behavioral economists look into the reasons why.

The reason people will walk blocks to save $25 for a small purchase, but will not do the same for a costlier one is also the reason people who are buying a $25,000 car will casually add on an optional feature costing $750, because, “Hey, what’s a measley $750 compared to the cost of the car as a whole?” And what’s $25 when compared to a $900 purchase?

Blind spots, the authors call them. Working against our own financial best interests.

Since the authors wrote the book, Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes–and How to Correct Them, we may assume the three reasons for the self-destructive investing patterns of people in the TIME article are just the tip of the iceberg.

After giving the three reasons, let’s draw some parallels in the spiritual realm.

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1. People are calling our church office wanting help. They might be sincerely in need but they may be running a scam. Do we help them or not?

Every church on the planet deals with this. If your church is located near a freeway or close to an inner city neighborhood that has seen better days, the line of people seeking help can be unending. If that’s your church, I suggest you pull together a team of your very best people to work up a church policy on this ministry.

But, as to whether to give or not, we have a longer, more involved answer and a shorter, simpler one for you….

Longer answer: Most churches wanting to honor the Lord and bless the needy will work out a system of verifying the identity and need of individuals asking for help. Our church keeps a record of every person we minister to, so that no matter which minister or secretary deals with the needy one, they have the history in front of them. Another approach–one we recommend–is to join hands with other churches in your area and create a single community ministry staffed by great volunteers in order to treat needy people responsibly and honorably. When done right, this ministry can often create additional ways to bless the needy: job placement services, English as a second language classes, etc.

Shorter answer: “Give to everyone who asks from you” (Luke 6:30). –Jesus.

Now, that word from our Lord does NOT mean we have to give them a) what they ask for or b) as much as they ask for. The Lord does not send us into the world to be brainless or gullible. But neither does He send us to be heartless.

We are to give them “something.” And one more thing. If we must err in the church office, let’s err on the side of generosity, rather than cheapness.

It’s impossible to know about every person asking for help. Even if we get all the information and keep great records, once in a while we will be taken advantage of. The folks in the church office should take that as a fact of life; it will happen. But this does not mean we are failing and it’s no reason to refuse assistance to the next person.

2. What about giving to the homeless? Won’t they just squander it on booze or drugs?

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But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. II Corinthians 4:3-4

It’s not just that outsiders to the faith have not been shown the way to eternal life, as though they were sitting by the roadside waiting. It’s not simply that the unsaved need to be instructed and helped, as though they were gathered in a celestial waiting room somewhere, eager for us to appear. Neither are the lost blank slates on which we may write Heaven’s love-letters to their souls, as though nothing had corrupted their minds or skewed their values.

The unsaved are in serious trouble.

A great many of those without Christ have been blinded by the enemy. Not all, thankfully, but far too many.

Satan has done a number on those left in his care.

Millions of those without Christ look at good and see evil, they hear Truth and call it lies, they get a taste of Heaven and call it hell. If they see Jesus at all, He’s the enemy. If they see the gospel, it’s propaganda. If they receive a kind act from the Lord’s disciples, they grow suspicious and look for ulterior motives.

Some enemy has been messing with millions who are without Christ, and has left them far removed from the childlike way they entered this world. They have been mistaught by those they trusted most, misguided by those sent to instruct them, and miscast as possessors and protectors of truth while they attack the very ones sent to bring them truth.

In the Greek city of Corinth, the Apostle Paul encountered such enemies of the faith. Perhaps they were not normally mean-spirited people, certainly not murderers or thieves or abusers. Their hostility against the people of God and against the Gospel of Jesus could be explained by one thing: Satan had blinded the eyes of their understanding. They were blind to the greatest reality of all, God.

As a result, Paul said in our text, they do not see: a) the Gospel, b) Christ who is the image of God, c) the glory of Christ, d) the gospel of the glory of Christ, and e) the light of that gospel.

None of this is clear to them.

Now, you and I could add to that list. Such people who rant and rave against Christians do not value the church, do not believe in Holy Scriptures, deny that they are sinners in need of a Savior, and even dispute the existence of Satan himself.

But, for the moment, let’s focus on Paul’s statement here in II Corinthians 4 and analyze it.

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What started this train of thought was a little note I typed on Facebook from my bedroom this morning. And that had started last evening with a text from Sally.

Sally had been a teenager in a church I once pastored, and her parents were dear friends. Her father, a former Marine, is in Heaven now, and her mother, now in the care of Hospice, is having a little trouble coming to terms with her own impending departure.

I sent the mom a note by Sally, suggesting that she read it to her.

The note to her mother and my Facebook note said: “If we could interview a baby in the mother’s womb about to be born, we might find that he/she is frightened by what lies ahead. It’s about to leave the only world it has known–warm, soft, safe–and emerge into a strange unfamiliar world with people it doesn’t know, who all speak an unintelligible language. To the baby, it would be death. But to everyone else, it’s a birth. When you get to Heaven, you will look back and say, ‘I was afraid of THAT?!'”

Had there been room on Facebook, I would have added something more. So, two hours later, we tacked on the following:

“The Apostle Paul literally taunts death. ‘O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?’ (I Corinthians 15:55) In college football, he would be flagged for showboating. Followers of Jesus Christ, you are not allowed to fear death. To do so insults the One who went to the cross and experienced the grave for you. Laugh at death. Like a honeybee that has lost its stinger, death still flies around scaring people, but it can’t do you any permanent damage.”

For a Christian to fear death is to insult the Lord Jesus Christ.

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As much as anyone you’ve ever met, I’m a product of the Church.

For some reason, the churches in my life revolve around the number three. I served six churches as pastor–three smaller ones and three larger ones–and in between, I logged three years as a staff member of a great church.

And, to carry out the theme, the churches that nurtured me from childhood through adolescence were three in number. Oddly, they were of different denominations, which may be one reason I’m more of a generic Christian than a denominational one.

The New Oak Grove Free Will Baptist Church of Nauvoo, Alabama has been our family’s church since the late 1800s. My grandparents joined that church in 1903, and my mother, in her 96th year now, is its senior member. Although “Oak Grove,” as we call it, sits 15 miles from any sizeable town, it will run a couple of hundred in attendance on Sundays and the buildings are all new and lovely. Mickey Crane has been its pastor for over 30 years. My mother thinks he’s one of her sons.

Remember how Paul remarked to Timothy that he had been nurtured in the faith by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois (II Timothy 1:5)? My mother is Lois and my first Sunday School teacher was Eunice.

I have good underpinnings.

That church loved its children. It was a wonderful place to grow up.

As her mother before her had done with a houseful of children, Lois got her six young ones ready on Saturday night. Then, on Sunday, we walked across the field and through the woods, a mile to the church. Among the blessings from that investment, God gave this good woman two sons for the ministry. Ron and I have logged nearly a hundred years of preaching between us.

The Methodist Church of the Affinity, West Virginia, mining camp.

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