Faith is .... - Day 2

Day 2

The hard-faced man once again rose first when they gathered back at the circle the next morning. His bass boomed, completely filling the clearing. He had switched out of the casual clothes he had on yesterday into very rough, very dirty overalls. He feet were shod in muddy work boots.

He raised his glove clad hands to the sky and began his dissertation:

Faith is hard.

You must work hard to have faith. I need but
point to the thousands of monasteries and retreats around this world. If
faith was easy, why would it take so much work?

In order to have
faith, you must work hard. You must study. Not study like you do to
pass a test, but to study as if your soul relied on it – for it
does.

You just pray. You must fast. You must
work. All these you must with a consistency, a fervor, a passion that
shuts all out. Your knees must be bruised. Your stomach must
be taunt. Your hands must be calloused.

The hard-faced man continued his dissertation through the rest of day. He never let up his strong approach. He walked the circle, pounding his fist while making point after point of how hard Faith is. He stopped in front of each individual to make specific points – each individual except the small, girl. He hesitated, and passed her by.

As the last rays of the sun filtered the bark and leaves, he ended by saying:

Faith is hard.

Look in the Bible. Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, cried tears of blood and died a most horrible death. Believer after
believer were tortured and murdered. Most preachers now have
PhDs.

Faith is hard.

With these last words, he returned to his seat and sat down with a thud. He clearly had given all he could give.


The parties remained seated for some time, mulling over what the hard-faced man had said. Finally, it was the little girl who rose and calmly walked over to the hard-faced man. She said nothing, just patted him on the knee and left the circle. The rest soon followed, last in the line, the hard-faced man, whose hard-face contained a slight, quizzical look.