Viva La Revolucion - Or, A Chair Too Small

I’ve talked with several people lately who said something like this: “My faith is very important to me. I don’t know what I would do without it.” In the midst of their statement, they either got a sort of faraway look in their eyes, as if their faith takes in all of life and every horizon, or they suddenly looked intense, like they were about to skewer me with the precision of their statement. I half-expected them to suddenly have a German accent:

Faith is zee essence of all zat matters in za vorld. If you don’t agree vid me, I may have to kill you. Vee have vays of dealing vid you.

While I was happy to hear that their faith was important to them, still it had no definition to it. I was curious, so I asked a simple question: “I’m glad to hear you have faith. What’s one thing that you love about God?”

The number one answer: “What do you mean?”

Surprised, I stammered, “Well, your faith is in God, so I simply wonder what it is you like about Him, what you’ve found amazing about Him.”

Repeat the number one answer.

Fortunately, we lingered along the line of discussion for quite some time, which gave me the chance to describe the God who loves to be known. I got to tell them that, at the cross and through the resurrection, Jesus did away with every reason for separation between Him and us, and that it is now His delight to reveal Himself to us—perfect love, perfect mercy, perfect vision, perfect comfort and perfect ability.

That they could know Him was a revolution in their thinking. And they needed it! Their confidence was a scam—what they were resting upon could not hold them.

If faith in God doesn’t give you that, if faith in God doesn’t give you Him in a truly knowable way, revolutionizing all of your life—your wants and hopes and dreams— then something’s wrong.

And viva la revolucion.