By Bob Van Domelen
September 2010
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do
not see.” Hebrews
11.1
A good man and a
faithful correspondent recently closed his letter with a request that I
consider writing the main article for this newsletter on faith.
Specifically, he
asked “How those of us on the inside can acknowledge our challenges, setbacks,
attacks to our faith, to have them recognized, validated, and then how to take
the next step of overcoming them.”
He went on to ask
“How to have faith and to go on being who we are in spite of whom others say we
are and in spite of our environment.” I
know, he really asked two questions.
If I wanted to be
a wimp, I could have ignored the first question and concentrated on the
second. But when I thought about the
great examples of people walking in faith, it seemed to me that faith got them through the challenges and
setbacks. Faith is not some highway
bypass for the purpose of avoiding downtown traffic congestion.
For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
We ask for faith, maybe even beg for
it, but unlike other tangible gifts, faith doesn’t just appear one morning
sitting on our nightstand with a note attached. Yet God has both planted the
seed within us and positioned it for growth.
Faith is being sure of what we hope for
As a boy, I
attended a parochial school. Before each athletic event we prayed God would be
on our side and help bring us to victory.
Of course, the opposition was also a parochial school and probably said
the same prayer. I don’t recall thinking
God had turned his back on us in our defeats, but I suspect some of my
classmates might have wondered what went wrong.
A prayer for an
athletic victory is not an example of how faith works, yet we often hear
phrases like “claiming the victory” or “name it and claim it” in our churches
and in our prayer groups. Failure to claim something is considered a sign of
weak or non-existent faith. In short, it
is our fault if what we pray for doesn’t come to pass.
My friend
mentions very real and legitimate situations he and all in prison face. Each day sex offenders wonder if they will
survive the threats of other inmates who consider them less than worthy of
life. Each day these individuals wonder
why prayers for a parole are denied, why family members turn their backs on
them, or why they have lost the familiar environment in which to worship that
was theirs outside of prison walls. They
sometimes feel that the forgiveness given others through a public confession of
sin is not theirs because their sin is the worst sin, the sin that cannot be
forgiven though we both are not true.
Besides, public confession would be a huge risk in many institutions where sex
offenders pray instead for anonymity.
Legitimate
prayers. Certainly much more sincere and
significant than praying for the outcome of an athletic event. Somehow, this
faith God has given doesn’t make much sense when nothing changes and the
outcome falls far short of the prayer’s intention. But it should be pointed out that inmates
have no lock on problems associated with faith. All people find themselves
confronted with the same questions if they are honest with themselves.
Recognized and Validated
I am pretty
certain that we all recognize the challenges and setbacks others have—how can
we not unless we live in a world of total self-focus. Granted, most of the
outside world has little idea of what prison life is really like, but there are some who do. Anyone in prison or
connected with someone in prison hears stories, knows of situations that should
never happen but do, and has encountered the “system.”
Recognition that
something is bad doesn’t take much, but validation does because when the
concern is about a wrong, the word implies an agreement that the wrong needs to
be righted. I can validate my friend’s concerns but I am somewhat powerless to
personally change them. I say somewhat
powerless because I can and do pray for him. Is that faith? Does anything change?
Certain of what we do not see
If I said I
prayed that he would sense God’s loving presence when things were tough, would
you consider that a cop-out? Shouldn’t I be asking for an end to the
injustices, a parole, or at least a transfer to a lower level institution? I do
pray for those things, but I can be sure that asking God to make my friend
aware of His presence will happen,
not because I ask but because God promised He would never leave us. God’s word
told me that; preachers preach that; and I believe that! From where I stand, that’s faith.
What of the stuff I deal with?
Overcoming the
issues we face (both from within ourselves and from those around us) is a
series of choices. I have learned that as I strengthen my walk with God, I make
fewer unhealthy choices. Where once I thought I had no choice but to choose
sin, I now recognize God’s grace to avoid it. I wish I could say I always
choose God, but I can’t. At the same time, the sins of my past, the sins that
led to abusing have not been options and that’s a good thing.
An increased
awareness of God and a deeper desire to serve God completely do not,
unfortunately, guarantee that I won’t have to deal with the negativity created
by others. Those who would call me names or consider me the same man I was 25
years ago will continue to do so until something in them changes.
2Consider it pure joy, my
brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything. (James
1:2-4)
Over the years, I
have been blessed by the witness of hundreds of sex offenders who have not only
endured difficult things but have grown despite those situations. I did nothing
to change their lives but I watched the changes as they came to life in the
letters these people wrote.
How others see
you or me is theirs to decide. Not one of them, however, will be standing with
us when we face God nor will we be standing with them. In the end, I am
reminded of those to whom Jesus said “I knew you not.” They were not bad people
but I wonder if their faith somehow been replaced by simply doing good things?
Faith is not a place or the seeking
of a favorable outcome. It is a relationship with God. Though we might stumble
to define it, it is the cement that bonds us with our Creator. And in the end,
I want to say as Paul said to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the race, I have kept the faith.”
(2 Timothy 4:7)