We all have faith in something - even people who believe there is no God have faith in something or someone. For example, I think it takes faith in the goodness of others or in others' need for self-preservation simply to drive a car. If I didn't have faith that you would stay in your lane... The question Jesus is asking, I think, is "What is your faith in?" Is your faith in your self or is your faith in someone or something else? If you answered that your faith is in God, then I think Jesus next asks us "Is you faith persistent, or does it change with the wind?" Are you willing to let go and trust in God? Are you willing to live your life demonstrating that God is in control?
One way to do this is to make prayer and discernment of God's will a priority. What is God calling you to do? Are you doing it? What gifts and graces has God given you? Are you using them to the benefit of others or saving them for yourself? Am I willing to make myself vulnerable in front of others (like the woman in the story) in order to trust in God? ...sadly, I can't always answer that last one "yes"... how about you?
Looking further at this story - I have to ask myself how consistent I am in my prayer life. If I understand, as I stated in an earlier post, that my praying is in response to God's call, then do I pray during good times and bad? Or do I pray only when things aren't as I'd like them to be? How persistent am I in developing my relationship with God?
For Jesus, faith was not a thing, but a way of living, a way of being. Persistent faith will look different for each of us because we are each different. Some of us are quiet, some of us are timid, some of us are brash... and perhaps we are a little of each and more...
In what are you placing your faith?
How is that faith lived out?
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