Religion vs Faith?

       What is the difference between being religious and living a life of faith? Faith is a belief in something that may seem impossible.  Having faith is being absolutely confident that what seems impossible will occur if we live a life of service, sacrifice, and at times, perseverance.  Faith is not something we own.  It is not something we inherit from our parents.  It is not even something we get at church.  Certainly, the values that our parents inculcate in us will influence our faith.  Without doubt, worship at church contributes to the development of our faith.  But try to put your finger on your faith, and there isn’t one thing that you can point to.  Faith, like culture, is a way of life.  Living by faith is a way of life achieved through service and sacrifice for the greater good of others.  It is defined by our actions, particularly those towards others.

          A great misconception exists that being religious is synonymous with living a life of faith.  But think about it, there are a host of things you can do to be religious that do not in themselves exemplify faith.  This does not make any of those activities bad, but if you can involve yourself in a religious practice in isolation, it is not by itself, faith.  For example, knowing scripture helps you learn about religion but doing what scripture says, all the time, demonstrates faith in action.  Bible study is important, but it has no effect on faith if it does not change your behaviors and attitudes.  So what can we do to ensure that we do not become satisfied and stagnant with religion and fail to develop our faith?