Why Faith Matters

When I think about people I love who are still living, I imagine them wherever they actually are in that moment—at work, at home, maybe on vacation somewhere, etc. When I think about loved ones who have left this life for the next, I actually feel very close to them, because since they are spirits, free of their bodies and can be anywhere, I always imagine them right with me. When I think about God...well, before I tell you where He is for me, where do you imagine Him?
 
I found this kind of interesting but not surprising: When I asked two life-long, devout Catholics who never miss Sunday mass, where they imagine God when they pray to Him, I got two completely different answers. For one, God was in heaven. For the other, God was everywhere, including within us. And when I was a chaplain, I got the spectrum of answers from Him being with you, part of you, to Him being far off somewhere in heaven. And that made me wonder: Does where and how you imagine God make any difference? I guess that depends on what you desire from Him.

If you desire life—defined simply as a living, breathing existence—then, as you've probably already figured out for yourself, you can love Him, hate Him, worship Him, or exclaim He doesn't exist, because He gave you free will, and so He will not just stop blessing you with your gift of life because of what you say or believe. But as you've hopefully also figured out, there's a lot more to life than just simply being alive.

If you desire more love, peace, and bliss in your life, then where and how you imagine God matters a great deal. For example, how much joy do you think you will derive from God if you imagine Him as punishing? How much comfort can you feel from God if you imagine Him far off in heaven, praying that He hears your pleas for help? Conversely, imagine how much ease you'd feel overall if you imagine God as the living light that projects part of Himself in every moment with loving intention to create and sustain you with infinite peace and bliss? That's who and where He is for me, and truthfully, that's who and where he actually is for everyone, without exception.

If it's true that we are created and sustained by a peaceful, loving light, if that’s the essence from which we come, from which we are, and that flows through us, why is it that we do not experience that all the time, or at least whenever we do have the time for it? The answer to that question is faith, and it's why faith matters. The greater your faith to imagine all that God is, the more your imaginary obstacles to Him will disappear, including where and what He is. And when that inevitable moment comes when you quiet your thoughts and disbeliefs enough to finally start experiencing all His love, peace, and bliss flowing through you, as real as the life He gives you, your faith will be replaced with the comfort and gratitude of knowing the truth: He was and always is right there for you, bestowing all His gifts as you are open and ready to receive them.