Faith and Genetic Heritage

'The man took Jesus at his word and went home.' Every now and then I come across a Bible verse that I would like to see inscribed in my epitaph, and this is one of them. A desperate father comes to implore Jesus to come to his house and heal his son who is at the point of death. He supposedly traveled a day from Capernaum to Cana for this purpose. Jesus, rather than returning with him, replies, 'Go, your son lives.' And the man believed him, went home, and so it was. (John 4:50) Astounding; not that the child was healed, but rather that this distraught father could take Jesus at his word, believe that his son was healed, and go peacefully home. Am I capable of exercising such faith? It is common to say that our era is no longer conducive to faith, but is this true? The essence of man has therefore undergone a profound transformation?

I don't think so. As a young, inexperienced and rather incompetent driver, I was always amazed at the blind faith pedestrians had in me. In fact, I became a more cautious pedestrian when I started driving. I realized that I had placed excessive trust in complete strangers behind the wheel who could have been drunk, incompetent, or even reckless—it happened. Human beings have a natural propensity for faith. People continue to believe, despite the thousands of accidents that occur each year, that the government only allows capable people to drive, that said people do not lose this ability, that they are generally sane, and therefore anyone crossing the street does so with care, certainly, but without thinking about getting hit.

I am shaped to believe. I express faith, without thinking, in unknown canned food manufacturers, I believe they are telling the truth about the product's expiry date, the product's integrity - no animal waste, etc.; in the government that is supposed to ensure the strict accuracy of the manufacturer's statements, in the transportation and storage system set up by people unknown to me. Despite the tragic death of 84 Nigerian children poisoned by a My Pikin (my child in pidgin) dental syrup, parents continue to use dental syrups, simply switching brands.

I eat what is served to me in a restaurant without asking myself whether or not it is fit for human consumption and whether it might contain arsenic, the work of a malevolent spirit. Of course, there are limits; a sandwich served by hands whose nails are black with dirt, no, that doesn't pass muster, I've experienced it. Restaurant inspections have often revealed hygiene lapses, but I still don't stop frequenting food establishments. When I leave my tea shop, La Septième Tasse, in Brussels, my tea packets in hand, I don't ask myself for a single moment whether they have been adulterated in any way. I have faith in people I don't know at all; I take them at their word.

How can I do less for God? Am I capable of believing? Yes, faith is essentially a moral choice. We are sometimes recalcitrant because it involves a conflict with our current worldview (to which we are fiercely attached), or exclusion from a community of life or thought (all slaves to public opinion). Sometimes it is because it would involve changes in lifestyle that we find difficult to accept. But no one can claim to be the victim of some inherent inability to believe, nor that they would be devoid of the faith gene; we all believe something; it is our choice to decide what we are willing to believe, and that matters. We cannot expect God to be satisfied with our regular attendance at services in place of faith. God, having fashioned us to believe, loves to be its subject and recipient.

'This man took Jesus at his word..' You and I can do it too, if we want to.