Gospel Highlights

By its very definition, faith cannot be proven, touched, poked, or prodded. Faith, by its very nature, is absent from the tangible realm but fully operational in the mental and spiritual realm.

That makes it hard for many to trust in. But having faith, true faith in a very real God, requires that you take a chance. I use the term "chance" loosely because any Christian will tell you that faith in God has taken them through good and bad times, but because of their faith, there is always a surety of good to come. Nevertheless, we cannot see this thing called faith and therefore we struggle to accept it.

To illustrate this point, I want to describe an extreme example. Some of you will be able to relate to this and some won't. But try to imagine this. Over the course of many years, I had frequently said, "One day I want to skydive." I think I truly wanted to, but I never took any action to make it happen. Yet, for my birthday one year, my "over-the-hill" 40th to be exact, my husband took me out to a drop zone, as skydive centers are called, and announced that he had bought me a "jump" for my birthday.

After some shock, some signed waivers, and a very serious film instructing me on all of the reasons not to jump out of a plane, I was fitted with a ridiculously tight one-piece outfit and a bulky parachute pack. Then in a whirl of mini-lessons, most of which I quickly forgot once on the plane, I was told what to do when, and how to do it and off we went into a very small plane. Keep in mind that I was not doing this completely on my own - I had an experienced skydiver with me who would be jumping with me in tandem. I would not be able to see his face, but he would be with me all the time.

The plane ride up to altitude was full of my own nerves, shock, and sheer excitement, all of which I experienced simultaneously. But once at altitude, and after a few shouted reminders, the door opened, I was strapped to my pro, and in seconds, we were out the door. That sensation is unlike anything I can describe, as was the ride down to the ground. I was hooked, and I returned to jump out on my own on multiple occasions after that. Skydiving changed my life, but it changed my faith, too.

Having faith in what you cannot see is much like this. We often think we will come to terms with God or our faith "one day," but we do nothing about it. We live our lives for ourselves, but fail to step out into a new world with new freedoms and pleasures, until some event or some crisis forces us into that "one day." Then, whether we get to that day by our own choice which is clearly the better route, or through crisis, we find ourselves flushed with emotions that can range from adrenaline, fear, joy, questions, regret, hope, or excitement - and many at the same time. We are often given a set of rules to follow that make little sense, and then put into some "outfits" that seem restrictive or odd, but later, it's these very tools that come to save our lives and equip us for the "jump." We "board" our faith planes and off we go, living our lives differently, with bumps and unknowns ahead, but before us, we have the joys to come to keep us going. The deeper and deeper we go in our faith, the closer we are to the freefall. That is where the real faith comes in.

There is nothing like the joy and sheer exhilaration of stepping out into the air and being lifted up by the very hand of God. The flight that you have with barrel rolls and back flips and "Superman-soaring" on air is worth it all. And then, you repack, re-outfit yourself, and board the plane again. But all the while, we are strapped to our pro - we are never left on our own out in that freefall, but we are joined to the very creator of our faith who lets us know the incredible freedoms of faith, even though we cannot see him.

Camille Rodriquez is a Christian author, speaker, and blogger. Visit her blog at www.camillerodriquez.com or her website at www.joyabides.com