living Faith

one feels frightened of it. no one feels the need to run away from it. however, the lion of the jungle is a very different matter. it is a living thing, a symbol of strength. When it stalks its prey, the whole jungle becomes alarmed. When it roars, the animals are terror-stricken and rush to take refuge up in trees. When a human being sees a live lion in the jungle, he trembles from head to toe. he begins to lose control of himself. he is not as he was before seeing the lion. This is an example that helps us to understand God. Belief in God also has two forms. one is faith through imitation, that is, just following in the footsteps of our ancestors, while the other is a living faith in God, i.e., a faith discovered, or acquired, on our own. Faith through imitation is bound to be a dead faith. such faith falls short of stirring up one’s soul. it does not have the force of a current running through one’s veins. it does not create any movement within. This dead faith requires a man only to believe in God without fearing him. however, living faith in God is an entirely different matter. living faith in God means seeing God as having limitless powers. one who finds such a God does not remain the same person as before having had this experience. after the realization of God, his whole existence is completely shaken up. his soul is terror-stricken; his fear is intense. all other problems are completely overshadowed. he is now concerned with one thing alone, and that is God.