faithliness?

Faith–it’s a believing kind of thing. It involves trusting or embracing another, taking a person at his or her word. All of this is involved in Christian faith, with God’s Son being the object of one’s confidence.

But true faith is also more than theoretical belief and correct orthodoxy. Though it certainly involves these, it also includes something else. Faith, you see, is something that is, shall we say, energized by God. Thus, it is intended, at some level at least, to be alive.

James says that “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (2:17). In another place he puts it this way: “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (2:18).

The Message paraphrases this section of James 2 as follows: “Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? . . . Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” Wow, this is pretty straightforward. The point, I think, is that faith was never intended to be locked away somewhere and treated like a mere theory or an abstract notion. While these things have their place, faith, if it’s real, should be active.

This got me to thinking about what kind of faith God is after. Though I am sure that true faith implies a proper acceptance of facts about God, it also demands an active expression of what God has placed within us. Faith, in other words, is supposed to shine. It should produce. Faith ought to flow. If faith is actually “faith-full,” it’s vibrant.

If faith is to be alive, then what God is after might be described as faithliness (faith-alive-ness). A lively, vibrant faith is a faith that not only theorizes but one that lives. In a world where faithlessness is all too common and a merely hypothetical faith falls far short, perhaps what we really need is faithliness. Okay, so it's a little late. :-)