I believe in you, God, but my belief is just a small seed. Help my faith grow. Nourish me with your love, and let my faith deepen, mature, and always be in bloom.
Why does the Creed begin like this? Is it really that important to believe in God? Yes it is, because having faith changes our lives! Those who believe in God
• recognize God’s greatness and goodness
• live with a heart full of gratitude
• know that all people are brothers and sisters
• use their gifts in an appropriate way
• have faith in God’s love, even in moments of difficulty
I believe in God . . .
God revealed his name to Moses when he encountered the burning bush, saying, “I am who am” (Ex 3:14). What does this name mean? That God is present in our life, attentive to our prayer, and ready to save us.
Saint Peter Chrysologus (kri-SAH-lah-gus) wrote, “God is one, but not alone.”
For Christians, believing in God—one God—means believing in God the Holy Trinity and not worshipping other gods or replacing God with anything or anyone else. It is recognizing that the first place in our hearts belongs to God. Those who were about to be baptized in the early Church were asked three questions: “Do you believe in God, the almighty Father? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?”
The response to each one of these questions was, “I believe.” In this dialogue we can see the structure of the Creed (I believe in God . . . and in Jesus Christ. . . . I believe in the Holy Spirit). We see the same structure when we make the Sign of the Cross. As Saint Ambrose wrote, the Sign of the Cross “expresses in a most clear way the nature of God the eternal Trinity. . . . At the same time, we believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit.”
In his preaching, Jesus revealed the name of God to his disciples, saying, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father . . . ’” This is the name Christians have for God: Father!
This name expresses the nature of God and who God is for us. As Father, God has given us life and takes care of us. God’s love can be compared to a good father’s love for his children. But no one is a father in the way that God is. Belief in God the Father means having faith in his ability and desire to provide for us. It also means listening to his words and knowing that he guides our lives according to his loving plan.
Because God is our Father, this also means that we are called to act as brothers and sisters. We think of ourselves as living under the gaze of the same Father.
We believe that God created everything and rules everything. For him, “nothing is impossible” (Lk 1:37).
The unlimited power of God is a strength of love. Still, the force of God’s love is also mysterious, because we can only recognize it through faith. When we think about Jesus on the cross, it does not seem that we are “seeing” the strength of God. Instead, we “see” the weakness of someone who was abandoned and crushed by violence. Yet Saint Paul reminds us that God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (see 1 Cor 1:25). Jesus, who dies on the cross, rises again through the power of love, a love that is stronger than death.
. . . creator of heaven and earth
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). These first words of the Bible tell us that God, the Eternal One, has given a beginning to everything that exists, all the marvels of creation. Among these, man and woman occupy a special place.
The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.
G.K. Chesterton, a well-known convert to Catholicism and English writer
This is a truly important question shared by millions of people. It is also a painful question, because it often arises when we are struggling or when we see someone else suffering.
It is good that we involve God in the questions we ask. Do you remember the story of Job in the Bible? Job lost everything he possessed; he lost his sons and daughters; he lost his health to the point of endangering his life. Job questioned the existence of evil and suffering—and he asked this question of God. Because Job truly believed in God, he understood that hidden in his suffering must be a message and a purpose that could help him through the suffering. He never tired of asking God his questions. In the end, God gave Job an answer and blessed him with even more than he had before.
The one who believes knows that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8) and trusts that God wants us to be happy. God may allow evil and suffering in the world but God does not send suffering and is never the cause of harm. Although he does not always use his power to stop evil from happening, God can and does bring good from it.
We have probably all experienced that God does not leave us alone in the trials we face—not even when we find it hard to understand his purpose! If we approach life with this certainty, we can discover a meaning to the painful things that occur, or at least find direction to follow and hope to cultivate. We also give witness to God’s faithfulness to us.
The more God’s power seems “hidden,” the more necessary it is for us to draw closer to God in faith and through prayer. The more we turn our hearts to God, the more mature our faith becomes. Then we can begin to recognize God’s presence with us in the midst of suffering and learn to see whatever happens as God sees it.
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Who is the first person who helped you to “find” God? Who has brought you closer to the faith through his or her witness? Try to write that person a note to say, “Thank you!” You may choose to actually mail this note, or simply use it for reflection. |
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Dear [insert name], ............................. ............................................... ............................................... ............................................... ............................................... ............................ |
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Read this short story, which is found in the Hebrew tradition: |
“God wants to be sought, and how can he not be found? Once, Rabbi Baruch’s grandson was playing hide-and-seek with another child. He hid himself and waited in his hiding place, believing that his companion was looking for but unable to find him. After having waited a long time, the child came out and did not see his friend anywhere around. He suddenly understood that no one had been searching for him. The boy ran to his grandfather’s room, crying and complaining about this bad friend. With tears in his eyes, Rabbi Baruch said, ‘God says the same thing about us.’” |
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This little story teaches us that God also wants to be sought. Now ask yourself, “Am I looking for God?” |