Our Lord's query is not hypothetical or philosophical; it is indeed very personal. At the end of time, whatever faith remains on earth will have to dwell in you and I and people like us. But what is faith, really? Our society seems to have concluded that faith means believing without evidence, or even despite evidence. Yet neither of these definitions have ever described the Christian meaning of faith. It's true, the Christian faith is based on belief. That's why the verbal profession of faith is called a "creed." The Latin word is "credo", from where we also get the words credit and credible. So perhaps a good way to think about it is that we are all creditors and Christ is, as it were, someone seeking credit; someone seeking our belief.
Under what circumstances do creditors extend their credit, their belief, to another? Do they do so blindly? Do they do so in opposition to the evidence they gather, the testimony they procure? Certainly not! Likewise, Jesus does not ask us to have blind faith. Rather, He asks us to examine the evidence and consider the testimony of His references.
What is the evidence? It's the undeniable intelligent design present in creation. It is the astronomical odds against our existence, both as a species and as individuals beings. It is the indestructibility of the Church He founded over 2,000 years ago--by the pure grace of the Holy Spirit and in spite of the incompetence and scandals brought against it by its human stewards throughout history. It is that ineffable knowledge in our conscience that lets us know, simply, very simply, we were made for more.
And what is the testimony? It is the lives of the martyrs, beginning with His closest apostles choosing death over renouncing Jesus and extending to those who die even today. It can be heard in the countless stories of conversion, people who return to the Lord after prison, after drugs, after becoming slaves to the emptiness of modern culture's mindless entertainment and after becoming morally bankrupt by relativism. It is the testimony of those who what come to know that the hearts will always be restless, until they rest in Him.
Still, if we might desire more confirmation. After all, this isn't some micro loan; God is asking us the give Him our lives. If we were being asked for such a great loan from a person, we'd no doubt want to meet them personally. We too can do this with God, through prayer. Many people are hesitant to pray because they have yet to believe. To me, that's silly. Do we not try a whole host of things--food, books, television shows, etc.-- before we are certain they will be beneficial for us? Others choose not to prayer because it has been too long. But God does not resent you or I for that; His love for us is too great. He only wants us to spend some time and converse with Him. That includes not only talking, but listening as well; to the stirrings in our souls He will create if we let Him. It doesn't need to be a set prayer like the Our Father or Hail Mary to start. As Saint John Vianney instructs, shut your eyes, shut your mouth, and open your heart. The Lord wants to give us His abundant joy, and He will give it in proportion to our ability to surrender our restlessness and doubts to Him.
Thus, faith is not a belief in the absence or in opposition. Faith is a trust, based on the evidence and testimony God provides, that He will provide us with full light of Truth in the fullness of time. Like a potter cannot mold clay that has already hardened, God cannot mold our hearts to love if they are already set in stone. We must be open to having our hearts melted so that God can reform us.
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