Photo by Ludvig Hedenborg
She Let God Write Her Story by Yelena Borichevska is an interesting and complicated insight into the merits of having faith and handing over yourself to Christ.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways, submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
– Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
I believe these are verses that every Christian should always take to heart. Proverbs have many insightful teachings, and I encourage everyone reading this article to check them out if you have spare time since there is always a moment of learning that is hiding between the lines every time one opens a bible. But I digress.
Faith is quite a mysterious thing. It is intangible and invisible, but properly applying it to appropriate situations can move mountains and overturn seas. It is this overwhelming quality of faith that makes it somewhat paradoxical. Faith is the basis and the foundation for miracles, yet it is also the presence of miracles that strengthen and, oftentimes, foster the seed of faith.
So, how can one develop faith then without the evidence of miracles?
We all have to remember that in God’s infinite wisdom, He gifted us with a great capacity for thought, but this potential also provides significant setbacks to keeping the faith.
Faith, you see, is not rational. And it does not have to be. Not everything in the world can be explained rationally, but the human mind yearns for predictability and recognition. As such, the greatest gift that God has given us becomes a stumbling block to acquiring true faith.
This is because true faith is not something that comes out of discovery, especially in the external sense; true faith comes to us through understanding and experience. Of course, these can come about if you seek them, but that would take too much of one’s time and effort–two things that are often in such short supply in this very busy world.
The most effective method of attaining true faith is also the most tedious. Yet, what can a lifetime of monotony compare to an eternity of bliss? This method is, of course, to wait. Most philosophers would like to define faith as believing without evidence–and while it dismisses the possibility of faith as rational, it does hold water to some extent. You see, having faith means persisting, despite what the world may tell you and despite what your eyes present you.
Keeping faith is to go against the faculties of the human mind and persevere.
This path to faith is most apparent in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which is told in Matthew 25:1-13.
THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
Jesus tells the Parable of the Ten Virgins to his disciples after he speaks about the Signs of the End Times. With this context, it is immediately apparent that the story itself is meant to be interpreted as Jesus telling his disciples and us that we have to prepare ourselves for the Second Coming, whenever and wherever it may occur.
In the parable, there are a group of ten virgins chosen to accompany a procession for a wedding. Each of the virgins has a lamp in their possession to light their way, as they expect the bridegroom to arrive sometime during the evening when the sky is at its darkest and the moon at its dimmest. Five of the virgins, knowing that the bridegroom’s time of arrival was uncertain but imminent, brought with them reserves of oil to keep their lamps lit. The other five virgins are unprepared and have brought nothing to sustain themselves throughout the night.
So, when the time inevitably comes that they are to meet with the bridegroom, it is the virgins who came prepared with extra oil which are blessed with the opportunity to meet with the bridegroom. The other half, on the other hand, are left running to find more oil to continue their lamp light.
The bridegroom takes the prepared virgins to the wedding, and the unprepared are left to scramble in the thick of the night.
INTERPRETING THE PARABLE
It is obvious what the parable is trying to tell us. Because we are already made aware that Christ will return, it is imperative that we wait for His coming, fully prepared and ready to walk behind His shadow.
Giving your life to something that is vague and uncertain sounds terrifying, but there is glory and mercy within the grace of God. If you are looking to read more about what life is like keeping the faith and being directly guided by God, She Let God Write Her Story by Yelena Borichevska.
The Damsel’s Files 