I had a talk with my husband today about faith. I grew up being taught many of the same things other Christians are taught. One thing is that Jesus was born on December 25th. I now know that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. No one knows when he was born. The reason we celebrate his birth on December 25th is because it is the winter solstice, and the church was trying to replace the pagan celebration with their own. Knowing this information doesn’t shatter my faith. It doesn’t weaken my faith. To be honest, it strengths my faith. I don’t believe in God because Jesus was born on December 25th. I never believed in God because I thought the Bible was historical fact. I decided to be a Catholic and I became indoctrinated by the church, but nothing the church taught me ever really had anything to do with my faith in God.
My faith in God came from within me and it always has. I knew deep down inside of me that God existed and that deep faith that I have always had, that I can’t remember ever not having, that I can’t remember anyone teaching me, that deep faith is the reason I believe in God. That faith is something that no one can take away from me. And because it come from within me, it is a faith that is unshakable and strong. The world could prove Jesus didn’t exist. Scientists could prove all kinds of things, but the one thing that they can’t touch is they can’t tell me that I’m wrong about what’s in my own heart.
Now, I asked my husband about why other people get so upset when anyone would suggest that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. It came down to a question of the difference between faith and blind faith. So many people believe because they are taught. They hold onto those teachings no matter what happens. That’s why even when a cult leader ask them to kill in the name of God or to drink poisoned juice in the name of God, people will do it. They have blind faith. They don’t want to think about their faith, they just want to follow blindly without ever questioning anything. I can’t do that. I never could.
For me, it had to be true faith. True faith isn’t taught. It comes from somewhere within and if nurtured correctly, that faith is unshakable and can move mountains. That faith won’t lead into temptation or sin because true faith that comes from within is about remaining true to yourself and the person you are meant to be. When someone has true faith, they constantly question their life and want to improve. They realize life is a gift and a journey. It really doesn’t matter who you are or what religion. True faith is about being awake to the real purpose of life.
I just realized something amazing. I wondered why I couldn’t be a millionaire, an actress, or a celebrity. I wanted to know why I couldn’t be known by millions of people and have a more important life. Just a few days ago, I wrote that God doesn’t give us what we want, He gives us what we need. I have been like so many millions of other people out there just following along and living normal lives and if I did maybe I could be rich and important, but that isn’t the path God had for me. He has this different path for me to be awake to the true purpose of life to somehow see past the shadows and to find more to life than the fleeting indulgences of fame and fortune.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
