'Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.'Saint Thomas Aquinas

You are a child of twelve back in a time when houses were made with bare hands and wood. Your country is at war.  You, your family and friends live in fear of attack.  You do not sleep safe in your beds at night. The enemy is ruthless and without conscience or compassion.  A messenger arrives with the news that this fearful enemy is marching towards your village.  You are the fastest runner in your clan, you are a tireless runner.  That's why you are chosen to go and get help from the White Knight.

The White Knight lives over three hills, through the woodland and across a raging river.  They say there is a Bridge across the torrents but that the Bridge cannot be seen.  People say that the Bridge only appears as you trust your foot to the void.  The White Knight crossed the Bridge many years ago but no one has crossed it since.  They are too afraid to try.  What if the Bridge isn't there?

You are running as fast as your heart will allow.  You catch rasping breaths like a swimmer in a stormy sea.  You are running for your life, for your family's lives, for the lives of your friends.  You are thinking about the Bridge.  You have passed the three hills, you have left the woodland behind, you stop hard at the edge of the sheer cliffs that guard the foaming river.  You look down, the cliffs are unforgiving, the water is angry, if you fall it will be the end of everything.  The end of all you love.

What is stronger, your fear or your trust?  You know that the White Knight is kind, faithful and strong.  You know that He can be trusted, He has helped your people before and you have heard many stories of the victories and peace that He brought to your land. You know that He crossed this river. What is stronger, your fear or your love?

You close your eyes and think of those you love, you think of the enemy who would like nothing better than to see the future ripped apart by hatred and mistrust, desolation, destruction and despair. The Bridge is your only answer, you cannot see it but you must trust that it is there.  Slowly, you edge towards the abyss.  Tentatively you point your toes towards the place where the Bridge should be, you still have options, you can still draw back.  You cannot feel the Bridge, you have no choice but to commit yourself fully to something that may not be there.  Every fibre in your being is telling you not to do it. If you can't see it, it cannot be there.

Something like a lion's roar rises up inside of you.  Courage and determination. You will not let this fear win you over.  With all your strength you jump into the unknown and without a pause you land on rough wood, wood dotted with nails.  The Bridge.  You look up and there is the White Knight at the other side of the river valley. 'Come, follow me', he smiles.

Sometimes God can take everything you thought you knew and turn it upside down. Sometimes the picture of God that you had carefully constructed in your mind will be re-drawn.  Sometimes He will take apart the house you have made for Him and build His own. Sometimes you will be left uncertain, without a safety net, at a cliff edge above a raging river.  This is when He will teach you that faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.  What is stronger, your fear or your trust?

What is stronger your fear or your love? Let's jump together.

'Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?" Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!" John 14 v5-7, The Message