Since we have such a hope…

When I am in the exam room with patients, the subject of faith in God comes up frequently enough. Sometimes these are great stories of recovery and renewal. But unfortunately too often I run into expressions of faith that are misguided. One common example is when I offer some advice or intervention, only to be told by a patient or parent something to the effect of, "no that's ok, we trust in God, we are in His hands." Depending on the patient and our relationship, I may point out to them that God is often providing prevention or healing through the medical professionals in His hands. What I really find problematic is the sense of complacency that this kind of "faith" leads to. I certainly have to pull the log out of my own eye on this. A passive faith is easy to slip into. We are not called to a faith that is benign, rather a fertile faith where we take God's gifts and multiply them in his name. My prayers for myself and for my community are that "since we have such a hope, we are very bold" (2 Corinthians 3:12).

Joshua Kistner