The word faith is often misunderstood.
For many of us, we talk about having faith in God, in Christ, in the Trinity. And, what we mean by this that we believe a certain set of concepts. We’ve mentally understood the meaning of the creed, or we can explain key dogmas of the Christian faith.
However, the Greek word for faith is probably better understood by the English word trust.
To have faith is to trust that God has covered our sins with his grace. It means we trust that God has conquered death and we have nothing to fear. It means that we must now live in the expectation of that hope.
But, the flip side of trust is loyalty.
We can’t live in trust if we’re not loyal to the person in whom we’ve put our trust. In other words, it’s ridiculous to say we trust God but not be loyal to the sort of lifestyle that God asks to live by.
Christianity is a lifestyle, the Way, and it requires that we’re loyal to the teaching of scripture.
Today’s reading encourages us not only to trust but to also be loyal. Otherwise, the Son of Man may not recognize us as one of his own.
The Reading
“But I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God; And the one denying me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it will be excused him; but the one blaspheming against the Holy Spirit will not be excused. And when they bring you in before synagogues and rulers and authorities do not be anxious about how or what you may answer in defense or may say; For in that hour the Holy Spirit will teach you the things it is necessary to say.” (Luke 12:8-12)