The Bible is filled with hundreds of stories of people of faith. You can even say to an unchurched person that someone has the wisdom of Solomon or the patience of Job and they know kind of what you are referring to – someone who was rewarded by God for their faith.   But as we come into the Advent season, we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I find myself thinking – probably because I’m still raising children – a lot about Jesus’ childhood.  What must that have been like, really?  What was it like to be Jesus, and be 6?  What did 14 look like for Jesus?  I think about how full of doubt and heartache and just the unknowingness that was my adolescence, and some parts of my adult life, let’s be honest.

But Jesus, even as a child… when he got separated from his family during their travels and, not a crying worried mess when they found him, but a confident faithful servant already – did you not know I had to be in my Father’s house? My Father’s House.  That’s faith.

Think about not just believing in God, because that word, belief, I can say I believe I’ll have a deli sandwich for dinner, and I can make that happen. I can say that I believe science is God revealing Himself to us as He wants us to know Him.  I believe that all humans were created by God just as they are, flawed in our eyes but perfect in His.  I believe that John the Baptist was a little bit of a nut but a crucial figure in our religious history.  Not just belief, but KNOWING.  The knowledge of God.  That is what we aspire to.  That is the level of faith we work toward.

That’s the faith of Jesus. To know how your life is supposed to turn out, and to go on preaching, teaching, loving. To do that? To love like that?  That’s faith.

What would our prayers sound like if we had that faith? Mine would sound like this: Thank you. Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  A million times, thank you.  For I know that You are with me, every microsecond of my existence here in this body, and beyond.

And I am not afraid.

Amen.

written by: Natalie Madison