Simple Faith
by Margaret Silf
For a short
book with a plain title, Simple Faith poses some tough
questions and supplies many profound answers.
Its author,
Margaret Silf, opens by asking Who is God for Me? Subsequent
chapters raise similarly difficult questions such as Does Life Have Any Meaning? and What is My Life’s Center?
In response
to the first question, Silf concedes that we are incapable of understanding fully
the nature of God. God is “a mystery
much deeper than human hearts can fathom”.
However, she then lists several ways that God reveals “Godself” to us –
through scripture, creation, the lives of saintly people, and every day events
and relationships.
Silf’s
answer to the meaning of life should inspire every person of faith: Each of us
“can personally help nudge the human family a little bit closer to God’s dream
of shalom.” In other words, the small
decisions and actions of our lives do carry
significance and will make a
difference. As for one’s core, it is
“the deeper center of gravity we call God” rather than self-interest.
Simple Faith also answers the questions Who is Jesus and How should we follow Him? Through
his life and death, Jesus is “the fullness of God’s love”, and following Him
means journeying in “the way of Love”.
I
particularly like the advice offered in this book about how we should
pray. Our prayer life should involve
daily reflection on the personal significance of passages from scripture (lectio divina) and on those experiences
which trigger strong reactions in us – both positive and negative.
For me
though, the most probing question in this little book of many challenging
questions is one near the end – How will
I spend my time, and who with? Simple Faith tells us that “faith
is as faith does” – that is, that we must show our faith through altruistic
actions. It also reminds us that while
faith is a personal journey, it must also be “a community matter”, lived out
through our relationships with others.
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