Dr. Eldred Marshall, Artist-in-Residence, Associate Director of Music Ministries
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
– Hebrews 11:1, NKJV
While venting with two of my best friends from Yale about the constant, soul-crushing news …
about hunted Black people and Breonna Taylor’s killer signing a book deal …
about Pfizer announcing a third COVID-19 shot, thanks to the quick spread of variants that defy our two-shot scheme …
about mass shootings …
about the universal church’s problems with the LGBTQIA community …
among many, many other things …
one of my friends said something that really stuck out to me:
“It takes a lot of faith to keep a faith.”
It takes a lot of faith to keep a faith.
I often remind myself that we are in a Genesis 3 state, and that “thorns and thistles” will follow all of us for the rest of our lives.
Job encapsulates this sense.
Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue.
– Job 14:1-2, NKJV
At the same time, God’s grace is never beyond the reach of anyone.
We as Christians are to love the people of the world as God loves them.
This is a tough act to follow, as God sent his Son to pay the ultimate sacrifice, to show the depths of His love.
But in order to get there, it requires us to work at keeping our faith.
Let us never tire of doing the work God sets out for us to do, even when the circumstances induce anxiety.
It takes a lot of faith to keep a faith.
First Reflections 