Faith is not easy; you will be tested

Every man, every woman must be tested. Even Adam and Eve had to undergo a test of faith. They could speak to God in the Garden of Eden. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • It doesn’t matter how many reasons you have for believing. It doesn’t matter how many blessings you have received. The moment of trial comes.
  • There are people who have spoken face to face with angels and nevertheless turned away from God.

Every man, every woman must be tested. Even Adam and Eve had to undergo a test of faith. They could speak to God in the Garden of Eden. They could see with their own eyes, and touch with their own hands, the marvels of a wonderful life where they suffered no disease, no death and no pain. But they had to believe that God’s word was true. 

They heard God tell them explicitly not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They heard God warn them that they would die if they ate it. Faith means accepting God’s word without direct evidence that God’s word is true. It is based on trust. To believe, we must trust this God who reveals himself to us. 

Was it reasonable for Adam and Eve to trust God? Sooner or later, you and I end up asking the same question. 

TESTING GOD

Adam and Eve had three advantages over us. First, all their physical needs were satisfied. They never had to worry about food, shelter or clothing. Second, they didn’t need the Bible to know about God. They existed before all that. They saw God more clearly than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; more clearly than Elijah, Isaiah and Ezekiel.

Third, they enjoyed spiritual blessings that today we can barely imagine, a fact we glimpse in the strange revelation made in the Book of Genesis: “Now, both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame before each other.” 

They were utterly free from the concupiscence that burdens our existence in this world—a burden even believers must endure as St Paul says: “We too, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we are groaning inside ourselves, waiting with eagerness for our bodies to be set free.” 

Despite all these advantages, Adam and Eve doubted God’s word. Instead, they decided that Satan’s message would make them happier. So they ate the forbidden fruit.

Never make the mistake of assuming that faith is easy. It doesn’t matter how many reasons you have for believing. It doesn’t matter how many blessings you have received. The moment of trial comes. There are people who have spoken face to face with angels and nevertheless turned away from God. Judas Iscariot saw more miracles than any disciple living today, and he still betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

How will God test your faith? Only he knows. When your time comes, remember the words from the Book of Psalms: “God is our refuge and our strength. We shall not fear even when the earth shakes and mountains tumble into the depths of the sea.”