A Simple Thought about Faith

         Sometime ago, one of my classmates suggested to me an Asian movie. The movie she was referring to me was Hachi: A Dog's Story. It is a heart-breaking tale about a loyal Japanese Akita dog, which is really a true story. The story goes this way...Hachiko was an Akita Inu that lived for twelve years in Japan. He was brought to Tokyo in 1924 by his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno. Hidesaburo was an agriculture professor at the University of Tokyo and commuted to work every day by train and Hachiko would accompany his master every day back and forth from the train station. Every day, the young Akita would wait patiently for his master's return on the train platform. Soon after his master's death, Hachiko was given to the professor's relatives to be cared for, but the dog would constantly escape and return to his old home to wait for the professor. Eventually, Hachiko realized his master no longer lived there and return to the train platform. As the legend goes, Hachiko would wait at that platform every day for Professor Ueno to return but his master never came back. But on May 25, 1925, when Hachiko was eighteen months old, his master did not return. The dog waited like he did every day for the professor to arrive on the four o'clock train, not knowing that his master had suffered a stroke at work and died.

Other commuters who had saw the relationship between master and dog were touched by the dog's show of devotion (who wouldn't be touched) and they started to bring treats and food to Hachiko as he waited for his master. This behavior went on for ten years with the dog appearing every night at four o'clock when the train was due.           In that movie, Hachiko's loyalty to His master is overwhelming. Knowing well that his master never did a communal promise to him that he will be back, still Hachi waited for several years , which is a vivid picture of genuine faith. He never got tired of going to the same spot where he used to wait upon the arrival of his master. Truly, I was struck by this movie and it deeply reminds me about man's faith towards God.  In Hebrews 11:1, Faith is defined as being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. A basic example of this is the presence of air, we cannot see it but we are pretty sure that it exists. Jesus promised to His disciples that He will come back, but sad to say, most of us are not anymore willing to wait upon His coming. Instead of preparing for Jesus, they've turned to Earthly things and pleasures and thus, neglecting God's promise. We all know the fruits of faith such as courage, hope, patience, loyalty, love, trust and pace of mind. During circumstances, do you exercise your faith or you depend on facts? It is a common scenario among us that whenever we encounter problems, we tend to calculate facts, rely on evidences and then worry about the outcome, as if we don't have faith to God and assumes that God would not back us up. We should always remember that we must live by faith and not by sight, drop the fear and keep the faith because God honors who have it.

 Like Hachiko, let us wait upon our Master. Furthermore, God will not fail us- heaven or earth will pass away but the word of God will endure forever. Whenever trials seem so difficult to pass, always think that God prepared solutions for it for He knows the answer-you just have to find it---PRAY, if your problem is as large as a ship, God's solution is as wide as the ocean...
Tribulations are like hurdles in the race, the runner should jump over it in order to reach the finish line, not to give up the race... God does not want us to be quitters.   BUT CHAMPIONS!