4 – Faith
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. For by it the people of old received God’s commendation. By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible… But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11.1-3, 6
The “non-religious” word in our daily vocabulary that illuminates this core value is confidence, an English word with clear Latin roots: con– is a prefix that means “with” in Latin, while the base word fido means “trust” in Latin. From this we derive many other kindred words like fidelity, infidel, confide, and confidential. We know what this is about – it’s about trusting something or someone beyond ourselves with our future hopes, dreams, relationships, finances, and all other personal matters. Where do we put our trust? How much can we trust ourselves, our friends and family, our money, our beliefs and perceptions? How much can and do we trust God, and with what?
At His Branches, we seek to place our root trust in the triune God of the Bible – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Vine and we have been grafted in and derive all our strength from the sap that flows up from the roots, through the trunk, and into the branches. The very air we breathe and sunlight we bask in is meaningless if we are cut off from the vine and lifelessly drying out alone on the ground. In Him we live and move and have our being. From Him we derive our vision for the future and the strength to believe in and work for it.
