"Climbing the Biggest Mountains in the World with the Person who Made Them"

The idea of faith and what that term implies has been on mind for the past few years.  Going to college, Bible studies, moving to California, and reading Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom has all served to influence my faith and what it means to me.

Yesterday, my Mum shared an article from Relevant Magazine.  It is an article about Bear Grylls and his personal testimony.  You can read the full article here:

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/digital-issue/45?page=51

To sum up, Bear talks about having the "wild and simple faith" of a child.  He talks about yearning to return to the simplicity of a "child-like faith."  Here is a quote of his that I really love:

“Christianity is not about religion... It’s about faith, about being held, about being forgiven. It’s about finding joy and finding home. We all want that, but nobody wants religion. Why do people turn away from faith? They’re not, they’re turning away from religion most of the time. I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t want to be forgiven or held or find peace or joy in their life. We try loads of other stuff—we think booze or foxy women or whatever will fill it—but it doesn’t fill the hole.”

In my faith journey, I have been all over the place.  I have gone from feeling passionate to feeling confused.  I have gone from feeling lost to being found.  At times, I have been a Pharisee, treating the Bible as law.  Like Bear Grylls, I long to return to the simple faith of my childhood.  Far too often I have forgotten what God, first and foremost, calls us to do: love Him.  In the end, that is all that we can do.

I think that Bear is spot on with his desire to keep things simple.  I will continue to read the Bible and try to understand all that It teaches, but I must remember that I will never be able to wrap my mind around everything in the Bible.  This is where faith comes into play.  "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."- Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

When all is said and done, our minds often get in the way of God and receiving His love.  When we remove our minds from the equation, we can experience a true and simple love that comes from a simple faith in the almighty, infinite Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

It is always encouraging to hear the testimony of others and I find it remarkable that a celebrity, like himself, feels the way that he does.  When talking about his faith, Bear describes it has "being home."  "It’s about being able to climb the biggest mountains in the world with the Person who made them."

That is what I want.  A simple faith that finds peace and rest in the God of the universe, knowing that whatever comes to pass is meant to be.