Positive Faith in Action

The next few days are about finding ways to put positive faith into action. Yesterday we suggested getting started by remembering that every human being is created in the divine image of God. Humanity is precious to God, and inherently reflects his nature (amongst other things of course).

A close corollary of this is to look for the good in others. Yes, this seems simple and trite. But, isn’t it nice when you can tell that someone sees the good in you? I don’t know this for sure, but I’d imagine it helps you relax, feel safe, feel connected, and, perhaps, like you really do belong in this world.

Can we offer that experience to others as part of our call to love our neighbor as ourselves? Can we actively look for, and see, the good in others so that we can affirm them as beloved children of God?

Positive Faith: How do we DO it?

Many traditions approach faith by starting with the negative: humanity is essentially bad unless God intervenes. A great deal of stress is put on the “humanity is essentially bad” part.

Now, I don’t fully disagree. I would just phrase it differently. Here’s a few options. Humanity is not naturally all that it can be. Humanity needs to rely on God in order to find its purpose and to achieve its full potential. We could say it a few different ways. We’re not naturally inclined to do God’s will, or to put his characteristics on display…/and/ God is perfectly happy to give us what we need so that we can get there. This isn’t really a theological difference, it’s a presentation difference.

The presentation matters because we don’t want to shut people down and push them into fight, flight, or freeze mode (aka survival mode). We want people to live as the best, most generous versions of themselves.

How do we do that?

We’ll spend a few days talking about this but I would suggest starting by looking for the good in others. If this whole conversation about positive faith is offensive to you, then think about it like this: Look for the God in others. In other words, look for the characteristics of God that are on display in that person’s life, knowing, believing, and trusting that some aspect of the image of God can be found in that person.