When we study texts of the New Testament where faith is mentioned, we come to further discoveries of its true nature.

"Your faith has made you well" (Luke 18:42). Jesus spoke these words on many occasions when healing happened. "According to your faith be it done to you" (Matthew 9:29).

Again, we see no connecting links between faith and adherence to religious dogmas. According to gospel accounts, some of people which were healed through contact with Jesus were considered heretics. Some of them were pagans, some of them were Roman oppressors. They were never required to change their religious convictions.

Certain theologians portray Jesus as the one who made miracles in order to prove His divinity or the fact that He was the Messiah. I think that they are completely wrong. Words and actions of Jesus were outpouring of pure and unconditional love. He was moved by compassion toward ignorant and suffering humanity. To assume that He tried to "prove" something to someone is to misunderstand His character.

I also don't like to say that Jesus healed people. Yes, He touched people and spoke healing words - but it would be useless without faith of those who approached Him. Their faith made them whole.

We always live from inside out, and if we need healing, it will never come from the outside: it should be released inside of us.

Faith is the transforming power. More precisely it was defined by Charles Fillmore as "the perceiving power of mind linked with the power to shape substance".

Do we have the right to transform the world, to change conditions according to our desires and our vision? Let such questions never occupy our minds. Just by the fact of our existence we affect the world in specific ways. Our creative influence cannot be resigned or avoided. But we can learn to become conscious creators.

Sometimes we are encouraged to "accept the things as they are". There is some truth in this advise, because we should realize where we stand, and to move forward from this point. Yet there is nothing static in the world to be accepted, and there is nothing static in our life either. The world is not a thing - it is a process. Our faith is our choice to affect this process and to bring forth greater good.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man", said George Bernard Shaw.

If we have problems, we might get used to them, and even find advantages of our condition. For instance, a sick person might receive a compensation of sympathy and attention - and enjoy it. But the voice of Truth within asks us: "Do you want to be well? Do you want to be whole? Do you want to become a complete and integrated person and to express all of your potential?" Faith is a positive answer to this challenge.

To have faith is to have exalted vision of ourselves - and stick to this vision, even in the face of negative appearances.

The other aspect of faith includes doing the impossible.

For instance, a woman with an issue of blood from the Bible had a vision that she will become whole after touching the hem of Jesus' garment. But Jesus was surrounded by the crowd, and it was seemingly impossible to get close to Him. Impossible! But she struggled through, and her vision became a reality.

There was a man with a withered hand. "Stretch out your hand", told Jesus to him. Impossible! But a man did it - and was restored. There was a paralyzed man. "Rise, take up your bed and walk", said the Master. Impossible! But a man obeyed - and discovered that he could walk.

The power of God within us is activated not when we are idle, or when we move in the same old rut, but when we rise up and attempt to do seemingly impossible. This is the real life of faith.

(to be continued)