Jesus challenged his disciples frightened by the storm: “Do you not yet have faith?” Obviously faith in this context does not mean reciting the creed or being able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Rather, faith is trust that God is for us no matter how things look on the outside. The Epistle to the Hebrews puts it this way: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. While the evidence of faith might not hold up in a court of law it is just as real. Perhaps the best analogy is that the love of one’s spouse is the evidence of the union that constitutes marriage. It is not seen but it is real. What is evident is how that trust in God plays itself out in our daily life — we are compassionate, forgiving, generous, loving with others because that is how God has acted toward us.
