Distinctly Christian faith usually begins by hearing the word of God, such as the good news about Jesus, and responding. Many must hear the story of God in Christ a number of times before they do not only hear words, but open up to their truth, and allow the God of Christ to break in. Or rather, one opens up his heart and mind, and recognizes the One who was present from the Beginning, even before the soul tasted life, or sensed that it was alive. “You are here, and always were.” Cosmic faith, which Christian faith presupposes, and which undergirds a person’s spiritual life, begins as one gazes with loving wonder at the awesome beauty of creation, and one becomes aware of the Mind that moves all of reality from nothingness towards perfection in Himself. Christian faith and cosmic faith merge in the soul of the man or woman who responds to the reality of the God of the cosmos, the creator, fully present in the man Jesus, and partially present in and with the one who lovingly believes.
Faith in the soul is essentially a loving trust, an inward surrender, to that which we call “God.” The divine Presence flows in, and is experienced as present, in the soul, in the consciousness, of the one open to God. The response to God’s presence begins with faith, and grows into love, as one realizes how utterly good, true, and beautiful God is. The fruit of faith growing into love is the union of the divine Lover with the loving soul, so that Lover and Beloved become one in the act of spiritual love. It is a sweet union, a “most delightful union,” a union often taking place in the darkness of the night of the intellect, when one does not see, or consciously know, the Lover, but is quietly and trustingly aware that “I AM with you.” Words cannot suffice, nor can they tell, what transpires between God and the soul of the man or woman of faith, but the experience speaks for itself: love, joy, peace.
When one lovingly trusts God, a balance of consciousness is restored. In more familiar words, one is grounded, sane, sober-minded, dependable, in peace. Forces of evil, the quicksand of the soul, are kept in healthy check: overwhelming fear, restless anxiety, depression, hatred, lust, greed, self-absorption, acedia. One becomes able to think more clearly, to examine the world, others, oneself, and the divine Presence in a calm, meditative light. Without faith as the grounding in the Ground of reality, one is prey to wild and nonsensical flights of imagination, to the domination of powerful passions, to the grip of fear that chokes one’s ability to rest in peace.
Perhaps nothing happens, or one is inchoately, hiddenly moved. Then suddenly, as if one hears a gentle knocking on the door, one becomes aware of the Presence of the divine partner, not seen or grasped, nor comprehended, but recognized in the stillness. One knows Who it is, as one has become familiar with his visitations. A light touch, very light; a soundless inner voice; a most gentle nudging. One turns around, and sees but does not see anything, anyone. But by faith, one understands: You are here. That is all, and more than suffices.
