What is meant by Faith?
By Kurt J. Kolka
Editor/Publisher
I believe strongly faith plays an essential part in a simple life.
So, this ongoing column, “FaithWalk,” will be about how to apply simple biblical principles to our everyday lives to make them better.
First off, we should probably clarify what is meant by the word faith. People tend to use the word faith or belief very loosely today in the culture we live in.
However, in the Bible the word faith, which comes from the Hebrew word,* emunah, means “to
securely trust or rely upon ... Emunah is more like faithfulness than a static state of mind. It is more ‘belief in’ than ‘belief that.’” (www.hebrew4christians.com)
Let me give you a modern example of what this is saying. I watch a TV show, “The Curse of Oak
Island,” on the History Channel.
The program is about two brothers in their 60s from Traverse City, MI who are searching for a legendary treasure supposedly buried somewhere under Oak Island in Nova Scotia.
The brothers are rich businessmen with partners who are spending millions on finding this elusive treasure.They use the latest scientific technology and equipment to try to search for it.
Their faith that it exists has turned upsome jewelry and traces of large quantities of gold and silver in the water beneath the island.
Many viewers watching the show have been asked if they believe a treasure will ever be found there. Some say yes, but many say no.
None of these viewers have an emunah-type of faith. They are simply into thousand speculations.
It is the brothers who have true emunah-type faith.The faith spoken of in the Bible. Theirs is a type of faith which has changed their lives. They are investing both time and money into what they believe.
Now, I am not saying to go invest huge amounts of money in any church or ministry. A person investigate any church or ministry first, and then pray earnstly before investing money and being certain God wants you to invest in a particular one.
Nor am I saying the Lagina brothers are Christians. I really do not know anything about their beliefs.
However, they have put their faith firmly into something.
Our faith in Jesus Christ should be like that. That's the typeof faith talked about in the Bible. A faith which transforms people’s lives and impacts how they interact with the world.
That should make us ask ourselves, “Is that the type of faith I have?”
Think about it.
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(*NOTE: The books of the Bible were originally written in Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew and are
translated into English for us to read.)
© 2023 by Kurt J. Kolka
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