Dig deep

Luke 6:43-49

          Almost everyone knows about building a proper foundation. In this post Sandy world, people know all about proper foundations even if that means building up (on stilts) to assure a proper foundation. The idea though of digging for a proper foundation is quite appropriate.

          Faith that is shallow is not much faith at all. As I have said many times and just this very week, faith is not born of rules and rubrics. They can enrich faith but they most assuredly are not faith unto themselves.

           So what makes ones faith deeper? Good word, deeper. Deeper is the word that describes how to build a solid foundation for a house and it also describes the actions we similarly must take to increase and make our faith more solid. Two things comes to mind that would be especially important. One is to 'dig' deeply into the scriptures, the words of God. While not literal, they convey messages of love, hope, real life and peoples struggles to maintain their faith in the presence of war, slavery and illness. God's holy word is not limited to Hebrew and Christian scripture either. There are many sources of wisdom and knowledge of our creator. One could easily argue that even a science book is increasing our knowledge and love of God. Discovery of His world and its complexities only fills me with more awe. The volumes of Gods word from every corner of the globe must be 'dug' into with thirst and zest for knowledge of Him.

         On another level we must 'dig' deeply within ourselves to increase our faith. That requires quiet introspection, self examination and if necessary, the help of a professional guide (read: therapist). I had gone so far in my thirst for God. Weekly prayer meetings, classes, courses and eventually a Masters degree in Pastoral Theology. But as helpful as it was I myself needed more help, a guide to help me dig deeper within myself to increase my self knowledge. This self knowledge became a source of joy and a source of thanksgiving to God. Knowing yourself more completely is a source to deepen your faith because it helps you to discover the beautiful creation that God made in you. Therapy helps peel away some of the layers we build ourselves or that society helps us build that keep us from being our whole and holy selves.

     The seeds of faith ( and love ) are a thirst to know more deeply the one that loves you. To deepen our faith we need to have a thirst to know Him. That includes increasing our knowledge of God, our knowledge of ourselves and yes, our knowledge of others. In the end our lives will also be judged by how we loved others. In loving others both on a broad scale and on a purely intimate one, we know God more deeply by seeing an image of of Him in how beautiful and life giving relationships and love is.

       Dig deep.

‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.’