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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Faith and Trust

I was looking for some symbols on the Internet and noticed something very interesting

Take a look at the symbols below

信頼 = faith

信頼 = trust

Notice anything interesting?  The symbols for trust and faith in Japanese are the same. The words themselves are the same. I don't know anything about Japanese culture so I don't know if the pronunciation or meaning In Japanese is the same but it got me to thinking...

What do the words trust and faith mean?

Can you have one and not the other?

I did some research. I decided to look up these words. My first stop the Google dictionary

The Dictionary definition of Faith is
-- Complete trust
-- Strong belief in God based on spiritual apprehension (or understanding) rather than proof
-- System of religious beliefs

Synonym: trust, belief, confidence, reliance, religion

The Dictionary definition of Trust is
-- (n) Firm belief in the reliability, truth or strength of someone or something
-- (v) believing in the reliability, truth or strength of someone or something
-- to HAVE faith
-- reliance on luck,  fate or something else which one has NO control over

Synonym: believe, rely, hope, faith, confidence.

So the secular definition seems to imply that faith and trust are connected. Doesn't sound like you can have one and not the other. They both seem to be about a belief in something you know to be true because it is not because there is direct evidence or proof. Even the synonyms for these words point towards each other.

So what does God say?  What does his Bible say? My second stop tonight was my Bible dictionary

FAITH -----
-- Primary idea is trust
-- PERSUASION of the mind that a certain statement is true - (being convinced or taught that something IS)
-- A thing that is true and worthy of trust
-- A result of teaching - (it can be learned)
-- "The object of saving faith is the whole REVEALED of the Word of God"
-- "By faith the believer directly and immediately appropriates Christ as his own" - (we make Christ as our own)
-- Necessary to our salvation
-- Not the reasonableness of what God says but the simple fact that he says it.
-- "thus says the Lord" - it is because He says it is not because we experience it.

TRUST ----- The actual word is not in my version of the Bible dictionary. I searched for the use of the word trust in the Bible dictionary came up with the following details
-- Trust and reliance are the essence of faith - essence=cannot exist without it
-- Something is true AND worthy of trust - trust, can be earned?
-- "Brief as this book [Ruth] is, and simple as is its story, it is remarkably rich in examples of faith, patience, industry, and kindness nor less so in the indications of the care which God takes of those who put their faith in him." - how has God cared for those who had faith in Him? Was God ever cruel to a person who trusted Him?
-- Something different from evidence that we do trust. - can't see/feel it but we know it is true

Trust can seem passive when in fact it is the ultimate expression of trust & faith : "it is the Lord, let him do what seems good." (1 Sam 3:11) - taken out of context it sounds as if Eli is just giving up after hearing of Samuel's dream. Eli isn't lying down. He's giving control of the situation over to God. He's standing up and saying I trust that God will do what is right and not allow evil to prevail even if it costs him his life.

So, yeah.  Faith and trust are intimate and interconnected. Intimate. Bound. Part of each other. Soul mates.  You cannot say you have faith and not trust. You cannot trust but then not have faith. You cannot have one and not have the other.

BUT what I do think I saw is that from a human/mankind perspective faith is something you can be taught. It is a concept that can be learned or Revealed to us through God's word. I think faith something that we are born with but don't know what it is until it is Revealed or Shown to us.

Trust is something that can be earned. It also is something we have or know not because we've seen or felt something to be true but because it IS true. Because God says so.  Trust is an active word of great power and great strength.  

Trust is powerful.

I am learning so much about MY One Little Word

1 comment:

  1. Just checking back to read any postings you may have written.

    I’ve been following and enjoying your blog for a while now and would like to invite you to visit and perhaps follow me back. Sorry I took so long for the invitation.

    ReplyDelete

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