Basics of Faith IV - What is man? ...

Thursday, July 16, 2009. “What is man, whoever it might be? Nothing else than a man. Let the strong and powerful laugh about me! I am weak and poor and will confess this to you.” This is written by Augustin(us) in his Confessiones around 397 BC. Augustinus (354-430 BC) was a very gifted man, a talented author and speaker, who after long years of searching and many activities became a dedicated Christian. Later he was elected to be bishop of the African city Hippo. His Confessiones are a landmark in literature until today.

I am weak and poor, let the strong laugh about me! This sentence leads us right into extremely important parts of faith. Faith has the goal to guide us into “all truth”. Faith has the goal to lead us to a life of truth, a life which is filled with the original purpose of God. We cannot do this as long as we try to blend everyone around us. We cannot do it if we play one or several games. We cannot do it without learning to realize our own weakness. We will find that whatever possessions we have, we are weak and poor in the eyes of the eternal God. We are grass, which blossoms today and withers tomorrow. Every day can be our end. It is always a sign of stupidity and immaturity, if we bask in our possesions. It is a sign of ignorante with respect to reality.

Am I that what I pretend to be? Am I the big actor? The great winner? The poor victim? What game am I playing today? Usually we have trained our games from early years on, so it is difficult to change them, they have become a part of our character. But God wants us to become sincere, to relate to him. We will find our identity in him, not in some games, not in some personal marketing strategy. We are what we will be - but not some illusion, some egoistic vision, but God's children in his kingdom.

When we get to know him better, we will realize our separation from him, our separation from truth, from love, from purpose and from true life. This separation is called “sin” in the bible. Augustinus points to his sin when he says that he is poor and weak. And he comes to God exactly in this state, with a clear conscience about what he really is and who he really is. And here, with God, these things change. In Christ we get a new existence - we are taken into his existence, there is real change.

Coming to faith is connected to coming to truth. Being honest before God and being honest before man. Man might laugh - let them laugh. There is much more in life than the applause of man. Only the fools laugh about serious confessions, about a life which touches truth and starts to realize its separation from the eternal Lord. Let the fools choose their way, but you go and serve the Lord! [R.W.E.P., jesusnetwork.eu]

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