Forced To Faith!

FORCED TO FAITH!

Let's say you're from Mars; you never heard of God, Jesus Christ OR the Bible! Somebody mentions the Bible as a Book, and you ask what the subject of this Book is! Note, I said "subject", not Object! Obviously, the Object of ALL Srcipture is Jesus Christ! But what would you answer? Love? The Jews? Man's history?

Well, (as I see it), the Ultimate Subject of the Bible is Faith!: (in both Old & New Testaments!). Let's see what Webster's says "faith" is; 1] allegiance, 2] belief & trust in God, 3] confidence, 4] system of religious beliefs ..... Synonyms; 1] belief, credence, credit, 2] trust, confidence, dependence, hope, reliance, stock, 3] religion, creed, cult, persuasion, 4] religion, church, communion, connection, creed, denomination, persuasion, sect! ...That's it!

Redundancies aside, is your Martian curiosity assuaged, or peaked? But, more to the point is that what GOD says faith is! After all, if (as I contend) the Bible is God's Word about faith, shouldn't we hear from Him as well as Webster?

But if we look for a definition of faith from God, we'll have to examine God's whole Transcript on the matter! Suffice it to say that the matter of faith is rendered mute without promise! No promise - no need for faith! That's simple enough! (And Webster didn't even see fit to mention it!). ...But God does!

But promise presumes integrity; that is, that the one promising is known by the recipient! So ... the character of the one promising, and the cognizance of that charaacter by the one promised is mandatory! Now that word "mandatory" is an interesting one! Let's look it up!

Webster's simply says "1] obligatory (constituting a command), or, 2] compulsory, imperative, imperious, required"! Now everybody knows that law only exists where there is the force of government behind that law! That's why we call the police "law en-force-ers"!

Well then, where is the enforcement of this mandate that any promise must be acknowledged by the recipient with sufficient familiarity of the promisor's character - to be valid?

In other words, If I don't know & trust you and you give me a promise (which I won't believe!), that is not a promise, but a "snow-job"! A promise given, but refused or rejected - is not a promise! Indeed, it is usually perceived as a treat! Why? Because of the un-familiarity of the two involved, and the presumption to act WITHOUT that mandate as mentioned!

There are social "rules", it seems, even when it comes to the relationship between The Creator and His creatures! Why?

Because (until they are properly Re-introduced) they are strangers! No one trusts, or places faith in strangers; he isn't expected to; it isn't done!; and it's generally agreed, he'd be very unwise to! (Even Jesus warned that his "sheep" would not follow strangers, and about casting "pearls" before "swine", etc).

No Relationship, - no Trust! Just like that! It's mandatory!, see? Well then - what's all this stuff about being "FORCED to Faith!" then? Ahhh! Now that's the subject of this paper!

When was the last time you went to sleep? Last night? Well, it hasn't been too long ago, anyway! Where'd you go? That's right - where did you go when you left consciousness? Do you know? I mean, where do we "go" when we loose conciousness in sleep? Don't know? Well then, how do you know you'll come back, if you can't say where you've just been?

Let's take breathing. How do you know that there will still be some air left in the atmosphere for your next inhalation if you exhale?

Life is all about turning loose - for ALL of us ALL the time, isn't it? Letting go of consiousness, or your last breath presumes upon prior knowledge and trusts the promise which is latent in that relationship! Am I saying that man has a relationship with his environment? Precisely! And I believe God calls us to account to the testimony of that relationship! After all, God Created & Gave it ALL, didn't he? God Gave us life! Did we choose to be born? Will we choose to die? No!

Every man is born into this world screaming! There is every reason to believe Jesus Christ was as well! Did HE Die against His Will? Good question! (That ought to keep the theologi(c)ans "at each other's throats" for a little while!).

But, side-stepping that issue for a moment, ..... it seems certain His Death was a Consignment (Decree!) by His Father! He was Consigned to Death - like ALL men are! He would have to "learn" to let go & turn loose of His Life and Consign it, of His Own Free Will into the Hands of His Father! For this purpose He was sent - to this End He Came! ..."FORCED TO FAITH"!

Most people think the word "force" means against someone's will! Well, it can mean that; but it also means the following: "1] compel, 2] gain against resistance, 3] break open, 4] impose with insistance, 4] violence!".

If we interject the subject of choice into any examination of the meaning of "force", we must also admit the existance of consciousness! That is, an un-conscious "choice" is called "default"! To think of choice merely as a conscious action excludes ommission as a choice! This is because man HAS no alternative BUT to choose! Why? Because God made him that way! {"Divine Schematic"}

It is the Law of our Nature (as Given by God) to decide, determine, define, exact, discern, sift, weigh, examine, calculate, reckon, "judge", postulate and then CHOOSE!

Man has no choice, but to choose! - it's mandatory! But what if man chooses wrong(ly)? FEAR! Ahhh! Now we begin to see some lines clearly drawn between fear & faith! But, remember, wrong OR right - man MUST choose! {Mandatory Choice}

And yet there are such things as are far beyond man's choice - such as death! We have no option in certain areas - none whatsoever! Well!!! Doesn't that just muck up the whole thing?!!! God has "abandoned" the "choosers" He's Made to a life in which they have no "option" but to die! {Sure SEEMS that way sometimes, huh?}

But HAS He "abandoned" us? No, that's where Faith comes in! God Promises He'll Live our lives WITH us (Emanuel!) and take us through death ("render unto Caesar!") --- AND BEYOND!

"FORCED TO FAITH"? - you might just as well say "FORCED TO BREATHE"!, or "FORCED TO SLEEP"!, or "FORCED TO LIVE & DIE"!

Well, it does seem clear; as "choosers", we do seemed "forced" to choose between FEAR or FAITH! We all seem to know plenty about FEAR and pain and suffering and dying & all - - - but what do we really Know about FAITH & Joy & Love & Life?

FORCED to FAITH? Oh, I HOPE so, ..... but I also hope it's not against my will! Indeed, God won't HAVE it any other Way!

THE definitive statement on the subject?: Paul's in II Tim 1:(12), "... I -->know<-- whom I have -->believed<--, and am - ->persuaded<-- that -->he is able to keep<-- that which I have committed unto him against that day."

But let's just remember how Saul (ne: "Paul") MET & came to KNOW Jesus on that road that day - - - was he "FORCED TO FAITH"?