Faith is Stronger Than Reason

That is how the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary gives definition to faith in its second definition "Faith is stronger than reason."

There are four events I have read in the Bible which cause me to stop and question the strength of my faith in Jesus Christ. The first one is when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Abraham did so without question, that is faith. The second is the story of Joseph who was sold by his brothers to lead a adventurous life of which included being placed in prison and eventually being placed in charge of Egypt. The third is the story of JOB, where everything he had was taken from him but his last breath, yet he would not curse God. The fourth example is of the opposite, it starts with Matthew 8:23, Jesus Christ and the disciples are in a boat on the lake and a furious storm developed, the disciples became so afraid, even though they had Jesus Christ in the boat, they woke him; his statement to his disciples was: Matthew 8:26 "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?".

This last example helps me question my faith. Even though I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, in a way, he is in my boat, how do I respond when my life becomes turbulent like the lake did on the disciples. Do I proceed with faith, or do I do what the disciple did and become afraid and have to wake Jesus Christ to take care of my troubles.

Even if I can recite versus from the Bible, I go to church every week, I engage in church activities, work on knowing about God and Jesus Christ, is my faith as strong as Abraham's, Joseph's, and JOB's. I believe our faith in God, Jesus Christ our savior should far out weigh our knowledge of the Bible. If there is one thing I would teach anyone, it would to have unwavering Faith in God. Is your faith stronger than reason?

My favorite versus from the Bible on Faith are from the Book of James:

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

James 2:20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

James 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.