I went out today. An achievement, indeed. I went early in the morning to get a haircut. After that, I decided to ate lunch alone, and then I wanted to finish the book I was reading earlier this month. I went to Starbucks and grabbed some hot coffee, and continued the book I ignored for two weeks now.
Its story was based on a real life experience by Mitch Albom, with two people whom he shared thoughts about differences in faith. Entitled Have a Little Faith, it was kinda draggy for me. But as I went through the pages, I saw the importance of every detail Albom has written to create this book. Some people say it was not the best of him; some people say it was one of the best. Nevertheless, though the details would sure drag you, it is a very good book to read; very thought-provoking, very inspiring.
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| Cover Page of Have a Little Faith (Albom, 2009) |
It tackled stories about two persons, Albert Lewis and Harry Covington. Lewis, a rabbi, was Albom's teacher when he was a kid. He remembered the times when he was not really enthusiastic attending his class about his God. Albom was raised as Jew, but he chose to be Christian. The introduction of the book said it all about the entirety of the story to unfold - Lewis was asking if Albom could do his eulogy. That thing made Albom think: was it a favor for Lewis, or for himself? He barely knew the rabbi up until that point, and so he asked for appointments to have some little conversation about Lewis' history, story, sermons, and basically the thoughts he had to every question Albom would have asked. The spoke about nearly everything: his job, his family, his marriage, love, hope, faith, death; and, his reasons on his take on those things. But what struck me the most in the story was their conversation about God. One God. A single God. For sure, we do know that the world is full of people of different beliefs. Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, among others. All of which have different takes on what is good, what is not; different takes on the concept of after-life; and among them all, different Gods. But the question Albom threw to Lewis was, are there multiple Gods? Lewis just answered there is only one. And I believe so, too, that there could only be one. And whatever God we believe in, we will all go back to where we started - to Him, the one, whoever's up there.
The reason we are different from other people is the one gift God gave us - the free will. The ability to choose whatever options we have on hand. The freedom to think whatever, however we want to. This free will makes us think of what is good for us. This is also the cause of every evil we know here on Earth, as Lewis said. Free will is a blessing, like water or fire, that could make or break us in this world. It could be a gift, or a curse. By using this free will, we are obliged to do what is right, not only for us, but for everybody including God.
Another conversation that made me think was about the concept of after-life. This concept was all similar to all faith, too. But it left me questioning myself - if I continue to worship God, if I continue to have faith in it, does it guarantee me salvation to what they so-called after-life? Then I answered myself, have a little faith. And I smiled. Lewis' thoughts were very provoking, you would really think of your faith, and you would really admire his because of its strength. No doubt, Albom had known him very well through this to write an interesting, tear-jerker eulogy for him. That was the product of an eight-year relationship to the rabbi.
Covington's story was much different from Lewis'. Covington was a drug addict and a mule before he became a pastor. He came to a point that his addiction caused him a near-death experience and that was when he started throwing all the evil stuff he had at home, and went back to worshiping God. Fair enough, he has changed and was able to help other people, too. One thing that struck me in his story was when Albom visited him in his house, and he admitted that he was better off when he was dealing with drugs. Money was not a problem then; but that time, it was for he could not even get his home repaired, let alone their church. Despite having helped and reached-out to less fortunate people, Covington still thought he would be punished up there. He had been very bad, criminal of some sort, before and that record does haunt him every single day of his life. Yes, he thought his God was merciful. But what he'd done was way beyond evil, or so he thought of. He said that not because he was trying to do good, does not mean he's already saved. Albom thought, upon leaving the place, that Covington was very unfortunate thinking that he's been judged all along. However, people should not judge; but, God has all that right. And, there was no escape but just to think that God is good. Plain and simple.
Anthony Castelow, or Cass, was one of the people who Covington has helped throughout the years. Albom listened to his story and he was a little surprised on how this man actually looked up to Covington who was nearly crushed deep inside. And so I thought, there goes the connection. Lewis changed Albom's outlook in life as to Covington changed an entire poor community. Lewis and Covington were persons of different faith, but were looked up to because of their firm stand on this faith they were holding on to. Their different concepts of faith are parallel in terms of their perception of God; that God is good and merciful. Their faiths have spread to a community looking up to them as inspiration; Lewis for goodwill, and Covington for change.
And indeed, one's faith can literally change things, persons, everything. Whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, whichever - if the strength of your faith is firm enough, no one and nothing can destroy you physically or spiritually. If you have the strongest faith in whatever you believe in, you certainly can change whatever it is you want to change.
Images taken from Google
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Here are some of very interesting passages in Have a Little Faith which I found, either way, very thought-provoking or inspiring.
How do you begin to sum up a life? (The File on God, p.19)
Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe. (Ritual, p.44)
That's what faith is. If they spit on your face, you say it must be raining. (The End of Spring, p.47)
If someone was about to slip, someone else could catch him. (Community, p.62)
When you come to the end, that's where God begins. (The Greatest Question of All, p.79)
The journey to belief was not straight, easy, or even always logical. (The Greatest Question of All, p.79)
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| 'From a Sermon by the Reb, 1975', p.93 |
...as if sadness were as treatable as the common cold. (Happiness, p.98)
Much of what we called 'depression' was really dissatisfaction, a result of setting a bar impossibly high or expecting treasures that we weren't willing to work for. (Happiness, p.98)
His morning prayer began with "Thank you, Lord, for returning my soul to me." When you start that way, the rest of the day is a bonus. (Happiness, p.100)
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| 'Happiness', p.101 |
Getting old we can deal with. Being old is the problem. (Old, p.125)
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| 'Old', p.128 |
Faith is so important. It is a rope for us all to grab, up and down the mountain. (Old, p.129)
I think people expect too much from marriage today. They expect perfection. Every moment should be bliss. That's TV or movies. But that is not the human experience. (A Good Marriage, p.144)
The word 'commitment' has lost its meaning... It used to be positive. A committed person was someone to be admired. He was loyal and steady. Now, a commitment is something you avoid. You don't want to tie yourself down. (A Good Marriage, p.145)
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| 'Good and Evil', p.198 |
...it's not me against another guy. It's God measuring you against you. (Life of Cass, p.207)
If you could pack for heaven, this was how you'd do it: touching everything, taking nothing. (Saying Sorry, p.210)
Nothing haunts like the things we don't say. (Saying Sorry, p.212)
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| 'Saying Sorry', p.213 |
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| 'The Moment of Truth', p.221 |
At that moment, it didn't matter what name you used. God is good. (Church, p.230)
...with a little faith, people can fix things, and they truly can change. (...The Things We Leave Behind, p.244)
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| '...The Things We Leave Behind', p.247 |
Images from personal files
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