Mortar 10, Faith (Bot9 #138)
Faith - Mortar 10, John Wooden's Pyramid of Success by Keith Wahl
"To hold a structure of bricks (or blocks) together, the mason applies mortar around each layer. In the Pyramid of Success, character qualities bond the 15 building blocks, thus symbolizing mortar. These character qualities actually run throughout the Pyramid and help us advance toward the apex."
Faith is the final Mortar quality on the Pyramid of Success. Coupled with Patience and partnered with all of the other Blocks and Mortars, it leads to the pinnacle of Success. Unfortunately, Faith is in short supply these days, especially Faith in God.
In the movie Elf starring Will Ferrell, the sleigh of Santa Claus has difficulty flying because people have lost "Christmas spirit." While that's a nice, secular, holiday term, ultimately, this is a reference to our collective lack of Faith in the unseen. The film is right - our society has lost Faith in many basic things. Faith that things will turn out for the best. Faith in a God that is unseen that you can defend. Faith in a man who died and rose again.
One of my friends is a teacher and he explained a lack of Faith in the Lord, and a greater Faith in science. The students in his class said that they don't need to worry about the "God stuff" as their generation may live forever with scientific advances. They believed that their organs would be harvested and they would be able to constantly regenerate their deteriorating bodies. Maybe we should give the students some level of credit as they had Faith in something unseen, but probably the wrong thing.
We chose to celebrate Santa Claus as parents in our family, in part, as an exercise in Faith. We could debate the benefits and the problems caused by such a choice all day, but we want our kids to have practical exercises in Faith. In spite of classmates telling them the contrary, our two kids have held firm in their Faith in Santa Claus. They use logic of what they have experienced in their lives along with a Faith in what they don't see. While telling them that we have been giving them the gifts one day will be an interesting moment in our lives as parents, we will be able to point them to the Faith they exhibited in difficult moments and transfer that Faith to their walk with the Lord, Jesus Christ.
As we enter the Christmas break and go headlong into the Christmas season, be reminded of the deep need for Faith in an Unseen God. We trust that Christ was born of a virgin, and that takes Faith. We have Faith that Christ led a perfect life so that He could become a worthy sacrifice for all of our sins. We didn't see Christ in the flesh after the resurrection, but we choose to believe. Let this season be filled with Faith for each and every one of you.