Trust has become a four-letter word in our culture.  Often times, we feel like we can’t trust anyone, or anything.  We can’t trust our neighbors, so we hide our children and ourselves in backyards fully enclosed in tall wooden fences.  Many people don’t trust our government to protect, or defend us.  Many don’t trust Christianity, or any other major religion to provide a safe and honest foundation for themselves or their children.    Trust is hard to come by. 

Trust, however, is key to a strong healthy spiritual life.  The language of the church has been focused on belief.  A common question is “Do you believe in God and Jesus?”  In our culture today, beliefs have come to mean simply thoughts.  I think about God, therefore I believe in God.  Trust implies more than just thinking.  Trust implies a relationship.  To trust someone or something means that your actions, not just your thinking, change.  If I trust my neighbor, I will treat them with respect, not feel threatened by them, and maybe give them a key to the house when I’m away, in case of an emergency. 

Trust is something you earn and grow.  Trust is a result of belief in something that actually measures up to your expectations.  My role as pastor is to introduce and nurture a trust in God.  Not a trust in things not promised like no pain, no suffering, and no hardships, instead, a trust in a God who is always presence, through the good times and the bad, a trust in a God who loves us, and welcomes us back no matter how far we stray; and a trust in a God who is calling and guiding us into a deeper loving relationship with our neighbors, and even our enemies. 

Perhaps out of a trust in God, can come a trust in others.  Perhaps a revival of this kind of trust is what our society needs.  The church should be a conduit for that trusting relationship.  What we trust is reflected in our actions and choices.  What or who do you Trust?  Why?  How is your life different because of that trust?