Haslingfield Methodist Church
Why bother with faith?
As faith is such a personal experience, we asked several members and friends of our church why their Christian faith is important to them, and here are some of their answers.......
......My life is greatly enriched by my faith and the churches that have nurtured it. I value the challenge of growing as a person that following Jesus brings to everyday life and the joy I find in worship. I know, when life is most difficult, I’m not alone and can look beyond today to the faithfulness, love and promises of God which I’ve seen fulfilled in my life and others. Through faith I find hope and joy that, even in sorrow, doesn’t leave me. Among ordinary folk in the church I have experienced loving care and encountered some very special people whose experiences of life with God encourage me.
......Without my faith I don't know how I would have got through the last 12 years seeing my husband slowly forgetting me, my sons, friends, forgetting how to do things, going into a world that I was not part of, was so very difficult, but knowing God was still with both of us helps me to carry on.
......If you take faith away, what have you left that is better, that gives purpose and meaning to life, has enduring value, and takes ‘self’ out of the centre? Faith in God through Jesus Christ provides forgiveness, hope, assurance and love. No other faith gives this. Non-faith leaves an empty void. At its best, worshipping with God’s people provides mutual encouragement and helps us to grow in faith. I have learned so much over the years through other Christians and have tried to serve in a variety of ways as part of the outworking of my faith in daily life.
......My experience of the world convinces me that there is more to the world than the here and now. I am content to embrace a scientific interpretation of the world, the big bang, genetic evolution of life, ecological responsibility etc, but I believe there is something more. And that something more is embodied in the life of Jesus Christ and his teachings of love and the way we must care for one another and our planet. Also, despite our struggles to follow his example, we are supported by his unconditional love and grace.
.....Faith is a way we, whether religious or not, try to make sense of life. We have a deeply embedded sense of trying to make life better for ourselves, others and the world based on Christianity. We enjoy meeting with others in open-minded discussion to explore our faith and spirituality.
......Faith is the thread that runs through life. It colours everything we do. I can’t say why I have faith but I know without it I’d be lost.
......Here is a poem written by a former member of our church who returned to Norfolk after he retired.
CREED FOR AN AGNOSTIC AGE
I believe
that I am,
that the world is,
that others are.
But I encounter
human face or flower,
sunset or singing bird
and, in that meeting, know
something beyond,
something transcending all.
That the world is,
that in it we are,
only of this may we be sure
yet, in the mystery of meeting,
there is God.:
Author: David Yarham in 'Verses of a Rural Philistine'.
