The Boy Who didn’t Just Believe

In Search of Rain

After four years of drought in the little village, the parish priest gathered everybody to make a pilgrimage to the mountain; there they would join in prayer to ask for rain.

In the middle of the group the priest noticed a boy all wrapped up in warm clothes and covered by a raincoat.

“Are you crazy?” he asked. “It hasn’t rained in this region for five years and you’ll die of the heat climbing the mountain!”
“I’ve got a cold, father. If we are going to pray to God for rain, can you imagine the climb back down? The downpour is going to be so heavy that it’s better to be prepared.”

And only after these words a loud roar was heard in the sky and the first drops began to fall. The faith of a boy was enough to work a miracle that thousands of men were praying for.

This is a short story by Paulo Coelho, renowned author of the inspirational and thought-provoking novel, “The Alchemist”. =)

The child-like faith of the boy was what captured the heart of God! Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me for the kingdom of God belongs to them. Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The boy in the story did not just believe that God will send rain. He also did his seemingly little part to prepare for it.

Faith is useless without deeds. You may believe in God, but listen, even the devil believes just as much or even more than you do! So what differentiates us? It is our actions in accordance with our faith in God.

Having faith does not mean sitting back, relaxing and doing nothing.

Real faith will trigger real action and speech that demonstrates your faith.

As my dad tells me, “For prayer to work, you need 100% God AND 100% man!”

Without you doing your part, God’s gift of faith to you is useless and unharnessed for His glory. I’m sure if God thought it best for us, he would do our part too. But if that were so, life would be unbearably boring and purposeless!

The boy in Coelho’s story believed that GOD WOULD ACT. But he also did his part – by his action of wearing the raincoat and words to the priest – to reflect that faith he had, without even doing it on purpose or having a false sense of piety like most grown-ups do.

“Faith and actions must work hand-in-hand

So your faith is made complete by what you do.”

James 2:22

The challenge for us all is to maintain child-likeness and simple faith without doubt or self-consciousness of what others think, say and do. Child-like faith and confidence is the defining nature of those who will not succumb to the futile worries, burdens and false “reality” the world heaps on everyone else.

“Vision without action is a daydream;

Action without vision is a nightmare!”

Solum Christum cognoscere | To know Christ alone,

Janielle =)