In our daily routines, we constantly rely on our faith in physical things. We trust that the elevator will function, that the car approaching us will stop at the red light, that drivers will refrain from driving on sidewalks, that the bus or train will arrive at our destination, and that we will arrive at work on time. We also have faith that we will not die today.
What are the things we don’t believe in, the things we approach with doubts, or the things we sneer at cowardly behind curtains of hypocrisy, like Sara in Genesis 18:12, when someone asks for our help in doing something we consider impossible?
We lack faith in anything beyond our capabilities. We don’t believe in God because our capacity for faith is limited, and we express this limitation by announcing that God doesn’t exist, even teaching that God doesn’t exist. Our actions demonstrate our faith in the absence of sacred values that uphold the universe. We don’t uphold these sacred values ingrained in our nature: “Thou shalt not kill”—we kill. “Thou shalt not steal”—we steal. “Thou shalt not lie”—we lie cunningly. It’s better to accept this state of affairs and be content with it, because our list of faithlessness is extensive, and our self-esteem is low due to our actions.
As Christians, we have received the spiritual faith through the sacrament of Baptism, which is based on God’s capacity. To develop and transform our human faith, we must have the unwavering trust of children in our Heavenly Father. For our divine faith to flourish and bear abundant fruit, we must learn to surrender ourselves to the care of our Heavenly Father.
We must attend the school of grace to acquire this new knowledge. God’s abundant graces, which elevate our human temperament through their saving power, do not replace it. Instead, they help us overcome our imperfections and further develop our talents. However, God’s grace requires our cooperation to achieve such transformation.
Paul the Apostle highlighted a crucial aspect of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus when recounting his conversion story to King Agrippa: “It is hard for you, kicking against the goad.” (Acts 26.14). By resisting and pushing back against God’s grace, we risk harming ourselves, as the goad, which is more powerful, will ultimately prevail. Every time we resist and push back against God’s grace, we are hurting ourselves because the grace of God is always more potent than our own strength. This resistance prevents us from rising above our human limitations and soaring with the aid of divine grace. Moreover, it hinders our progress on the path to the perfection of our human nature, a journey that is inexorable: we either advance or fall behind. There is no such thing as standing still on this road.
It’s better to collaborate with God’s grace and not squander the talents we’ve been given.
