Article June 3, 1991 Issue

"Dare to be faithful"

Loving God usually isn't hard. But being loyal to Him can take courage.

Robin Jagel Berg

I Started climbing the tall ladder. When I stopped near the top, my hands felt clammy and it was a little hard to breathe. But I knew I'd be all right. I let go of the ladder and fell backward—right into the waiting arms of friends. The fall was done as an exercise in trust for an acting class I was taking. It was a graphic lesson!

One evening I came across a startling statement that reminded me of this experience. It was this one: "Dare to be faithful to God and man" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany by Mrs. Eddy). I'd never thought of faith in terms of daring before, but the more I thought about the statement, the better it helped me to understand faith.

Sometimes we think of faith in God as something we either have or don't have. We may not often think about consciously cultivating such trust. The statement quoted above, however, shows the need to take an active role—even a courageous role—in being faithful. True faith is no weak, ignorant denial of reality, nor is it a superficial, affected piety. True faith is bold and requires spiritual strength and integrity because it often requires going against the generally accepted ways of society.

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