It all starts with faith, without it we have nothing.

Sunday’s Gospel from Luke 13: 1 -9 includes the parable of the fig tree, in which a man has planted a fig tree which has borne no fruit for three years. He tells the gardener to cut it down, the gardener however talks him into letting him give it some extra care and if it doesn’t bear fruit in the next year he can cut it down. The gardener wants the landowner to have faith that with the right care the tree will bear fruit. This is the message Jesus is giving to us through this parable as well, if we have faith, God will protect us and he will answer our prayers. We might not agree with His answers, but He will answer us.

Lately I have been reading  a few blogs written by atheists as well as some other non-religious blogs and have noticed a recurring theme in both the posts and the comments, or more accurately I should say another theme theme other than the anti-Catholic theme. It seems that most of these people have left the faith, either Catholicism or Christianity because of some bone they had to pick with God. Reading what they write they talk about how God didn’t answer their prayers or something bad happened to them and they ask where was God then? How could God let this or that happen if He is truly merciful? And other comments along these lines. I admit I was once lie this as well.

This is our society today, we want everything and we want it right now. When we don’t get it we stamp our feet and get mad lashing out to whoever we think is responsible (as long as it isn’t us after all WE are not responsible for our own actions). We don’t take responsibility, we don’t have patience and we don’t see the “forest for the trees”. This is where the whole faith thing comes in. I know that when I finally began thinking about things like God and eternity and “What’s next?” I understood that there is more, that there has to be more and that it is not here in earth, but it is in the eternal life with Jesus. When I saw this I changed my life with that goal in mind. I began to trust God and listening to Him. I finally realized that if I was to go any further, to the ultimate goal I had to have faith in Him.

Too often we are looking for that direct sign from God, that instant miracle, and when we don’t get it we lose faith. we give up on God. Interestingly enough, most times we have gotten that sign, we have received a miracle, but because we don’t have faith, we don’t see it.

God isn’t going to hit us on the head with His message, it is there for us but we have to choose to see it, to understand it. And once we have that faith it is up to us to use it to follow where He leads us.