God Speaks About Faith

Gerd Altmann

Got Faith?  Those who are old enough will remember the commercials from a while back: "Got Milk?" This phrase became somewhat of a novelty and derivatives of it are still used to this day. At the time, I had written a little play for a local Christian school at which I taught. The play was entitled "Got Faith?".  Faith is defined as "complete confidence or trust in someone or something". To a lot of people, faith is a word often associated with religion/Christianity. Mainstream scientists and non-Christians will "fuss" with Christians about how they can believe in God of have faith in the things of the Bible when there is no proof. First, let me say, there is a lot of proof and it is becoming more and more evident everyday. Second, yes it is faith that allows us to believe in these things; however, those who believe in evolution and other non-Biblical science ideals must also have faith in something with little to no proof. They must have as much, if not more, faith to believe that all of the known processes in the world came about by chance, rather than by design of a Creator. 

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Everyday examples of faith, listed on Quora.com, include: buying products on-line without trying them first; many entrepreneurial endeavors; choosing a mate; and choosing a career with no previous experience in the field. Quora.com also says, "Faith is baked into how humans make decisions. It’s also baked into values, beliefs, and actions regarding the future". Additionally, "These are the acts of the courageous in history—these are the decisions about which the greatest acts in the history of humanity have been based." We can see that faith is involved in many things in life. I was listening to a local Christian radio station the other day and heard a song that I had heard many times before, but this time a particular phrase jumped out at me. The song was "Resurrecting" by Elevation Worship and can be heard here.  One of the stanzas in this song is "The tomb where soldiers watched in vain was borrowed for three days".  I have since seen this phrase (borrowed tomb) used in other songs and references and it really struck me. How much faith Joseph of Arimathea must have had to give his pre-purchased tomb for Jesus' burial knowing that he would not have to purchase another spot for himself and possibly his family too. 

The Bible tells us that Joseph was a rich man and a member of the Sanhedrin; however, he was also a secret follower of Jesus and was in fear of being persecuted by the fellow Sanhedrin. Some scholars suggest that he may have been a relative of Jesus as well. Whoever he was, we know that he was an avid follower as all four gospels mention him. We also know of his faith. The Bible tells us that Joseph asked Pilate for the body of Jesus after He was dead and that Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus down from the cross and prepared His body for burial. They placed Him in the tomb that Joseph had purchased for himself (and maybe his family) and then rolled the stone in front of the tomb. Joseph must have known that this wasn't the end. As a member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph was likely a Rabbi and was well-versed in Scripture. He likely knew of the prophecies about the Messiah and knew and believed that Jesus was Who He said He was....the Messiah. This means Joseph also knew that Jesus would rise again on the third day. Because of this, Joseph was willing to LOAN Jesus his tomb for a few days.  He knew he would get it back and be able to use it for himself later or maybe even a family member. May we all aspire to have the faith of Joseph of Arimathea!