Faith and fear are two sides of the same coin. If the growing numbers inside the places of worship is any indication the one assumption that we can come to is that we are into difficult times. And people are visiting the places of worship to seek succour. But there are two types of people thronging before the Gods. Some due to faith, while others out of fear. Interestingly, both faith and fear work, though not exactly the same way as you want them to work. While faith leads to the desired solution, fear leads to confusion, as you keep on switching options. And as the adage goes, a rolling stone gathers no moss. The choice is yours. But the question that arises is why this difference. Why the same place of worship with the same God in place gives different results to different people.
There is a very important reason. The power to attract God's grace lies within a person. This is what faith does. Fear on the other hand creates doubts. And doubts don't lead to answers. These doubts arise when we try to evaluate God's powers on human criteria. God cannot be reached by human rationality which in the first place is bounded by limits. Reaching God requires complete surrender with full faith in His grace. Doubts only add to uncertainty. Only faith works in this uncertain world. Faith is God, faith is power, faith is religion. Faith makes things happen as has been proved time and again. Even medical science believes in the power of faith.
These words of Saint Augustine explain the idea of faith rather lucidly. He says 'faith is to believe what you do not see, and the reward of this faith to see what you believe'. In fact, that is the basic difference between magic and a miracle. Magic is a human act that makes you see something that is improbable because of a sleight of hand. Miracle on the other hand is an article of faith that happens due to divine grace attracted by prayer coming from the heart of a person.
Crowds inside the places of worship comprise both who fear God and those who have faith in God. The fact is, that both these types believe in God. But there is a crucial difference. Doubts about God's wisdom rise in the minds of the believer who wants to understand God from his own perspective. For the faithful, there is never an iota of doubt about God's grace. He is firm in his conviction that there is a kind and loving God who listens and will do whatever is best for him. That is why there is this Christian dictum' don't believe so that you may have faith, have faith so that you may believe,'. The power of faith can be understood from this story from the Greek mythology. Pygmalion, a sculptor and the king of Cyprus, carved a statue of the ideal woman, fell in love with his creation, and through the strength of his will and assistance of goddess Venus, brought it to life. Centuries later, George Bernard Shaw wrote a world famous play Pygmalion using a similar theme. Wishes can be horses and you can ride if they come from the core of your heart. Put your heart in God and you will get what you want.
Marvellous explanation of faith and belief
Beautiful article sir