FAITH:
FOUNDATION OF; FAITH: EXPECTATION

A father and his nine-year-old son have a close and trusting relationship. The father reminds his boy that in a month he will be observing his 10th birthday.

“Son,” he begins, “I know that you want a bicycle. I am going to order a brand new red and white bicycle, and it will be here in time for you to begin riding it on the morning of your birthday. It will be your very own bicycle—you will be the owner!”

Is that excited boy going to wait a month before he tells his friends that he is the owner of a shining new bicycle? Oh, no! He runs out immediately to give the great news to his friends. He is full of faith. He is full of expectancy. He already knows within himself the pride of ownership. His faith has given substance to his boyish hope. His faith has given a reality to the bicycle he has not yet seen!

He is not reporting to his friends an imaginary projection of his mind. He has his father’s word. He is able to speak with assurance: “Believe it or not, I own one of the most beautiful bicycles in the whole world!”

That boy knows he can trust the character of his father. His faith is not in the factory that makes the bicycle. It rests in the character and the ability of his father to keep the promise he has made.

But, of course, there is one little friend in the neighborhood who remains cynical and unbelieving.

“Don’t give me that dreamy line about having a bicycle,” the friend insists with some belligerence. “Who is going to believe your story? I don’t see any shiny new bicycle in your front yard.”

For an answer, the boy with the faith, the boy who already knows the delight of anticipation, simply smiles a knowing smile. “Just give me till my birthday, and when you see me riding my bike past your house, you will wish my father was your father, too!”

Romans 8:22–25; 2 Corinthians 4:16–18; Hebrews 11:1–2

Jesus, Author of Our Faith, 13, 14.