Photo from Unsplash
April 2
so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. — 1 Cor 2:5 BSB
True faith can be compared to the grand tidal wave of the soul. Let me explain. We observe the Thames River ebbing and flowing every day. What causes this change? You might say, “It’s caused by the sea in the Channel rising and falling.” That’s a true explanation. But what makes the sea in the Channel rise and fall? There’s something called a “grand tidal wave” that travels across the Atlantic Ocean, and as it ebbs and flows, it affects all the minor tides of the nearby seas, which in turn causes the Thames to rise and fall.
In a similar way, faith is the tidal wave of the soul, and all the graces and fruits of the Spirit ebb and flow as faith rises or falls. When faith rises in the soul, all the graces and fruits of the Spirit rise with it—light increases, life deepens, the fear of God strengthens, hope grows brighter, and love is magnified. But when this great tidal wave of faith recedes, all the minor tides of the Spirit's graces fall with it. Consolation drains away, hope dwindles to a narrow stream, life shrinks to a trickle, and love is reduced to a shallow flow. Just like the Thames at low tide reveals the muddy banks where the water has retreated, so when faith ebbs in the soul, what’s left is the mud and mire of corruption.
But what makes the grand tidal wave itself move? There’s a cause for that, too. It’s drawn up by the sun’s gravitational pull. Isn’t this also true spiritually of the grand tidal wave of faith in the soul? Isn’t faith drawn up by the Sun of Righteousness, just as the natural sun pulls up the waves of the ocean? And when that glorious Sun stops drawing up faith, doesn't it recede and sink in the soul, just as the natural sea sinks when the sun moves away?