Through the grace of God we have been promised the incredible possibility of a real, live relationship with the divine. Our appropriate response to this relationship is one of faith. This week's texts help us to acknowledge that our faith is a response which is utterly dependent upon God's faithfulness for its birth and growth.
The word "faith" is one of the most widely used words in the NT. It is found in the First Testament through the verbal root aman, or as we would translate the word, "Amen." This word "faith" or "amen" originally expressed for the Hebrew people the idea of carrying, bearing, or supporting, such as a doorpost bearing pillars (2 Kings 18:16). Yahweh is called the "God of Amen." God is the solid base, the rock, the support, the "Amen," upon which life must be raised. W…