Sometimes faith seems to be an abstract concept suited only to scholarly discussion of religion and philosophy. But faith does have an impact on our everyday existence and I ran across an example in an aviation magazine.
Randy Rizor is an Atlanta physician who has made medical volunteer flights to Haiti for over 21 years. After all these years Rizor admits that Haiti is worse now than when he started. He states: “On a macro scale, our efforts here have been a failure. We’ve been doing this work for decades, and we can’t show that we’ve moved the needle in a positive direction”. [1]
God does not require that we change the world; he only requires that we, like the Old Testament characters listed in Hebrews 11, faithfully strive for the goal God has set for us. The author of Hebrews tells us what our responsibilities are.
. . .let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. . . Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV
But there is a positive way of looking at what we need to do. Dr. Rizor states that on a micro level he is helping “real people whose lives are better because we came and helped”. [2] If we live our lives the way God wants us to live, then we can make a difference in other people’s lives and if enough of us do that we will make a difference in our world.
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[1] Dave Hirschman, “One patient at a time”, AOPA Pilot, August 2015, p. 76.
[2] Ibid., p. 76.
