The answer to how faith can be a virtue is love. The Bible states that faith is worked by love. That means that love gives faith its power. We have faith because we love. We believe in people because we love them. We believe in God because we love him. Love is the virtue that makes faith what it is.
There is no other virtue greater than love
There is no other virtue greater than love, and love gives us the power to move in ways that seem illogical but are extremely effective. Faith, specifically acts of faith are actions that are born from love.
Faith is love in action
The degree of love that we have for God, and for others is reflected in our works of faith, or our actions that are fear, or greed-based. Some of us have it backward, we want to receive the love of God as well as the love of others without really giving, sacrificing, or taking risks. That isn’t loving, that is selfishness. Love gives and in the risky acts of giving, one will receive more love than could be imagined.
To live without faith and to proclaim a belief and even a love for God is a lie because faith means taking unusual risks. The greater the risk, the greater the love. The expressions of love are all faith-based. If you have had faith in God and are willing to take the risks that he leads you to take, you are expressing love for him. There is a virtue in that.
Faith will always require that we think, move, and operate outside of the norm, or out of the box. It often prompts us to weird, and unusual actions that will not seem normal or make any sense until the shouting is over. After everything has been reviewed we’ll see that these unusual acts (unusual at the time of their expression), we’re really responsible for unexpected blessing, miracle, or move of God in the present circumstance.
Love itself is often a force that makes us all at one point or another, react in strange ways. Because of love, we have been known to take bizarre risks. That is on a human level. How much more are we required to act in this very same manner on a spiritual level? If we can take a chance on love, why can’t we take a chance on God? We often become fearful of things turning out unfavorably for us. We actually feel safer by remaining in our comfort zone, the area that God wants to bring us out of.
Our comfort zones become danger zones
Our comfort zones become danger zones after a while because these places, things, and people have more authority and importance in our lives than God does. Therefore, we lose out on love and find ourselves existing in comfortless and loveless states of being. This is the open door to depression.
So does faith have virtue? As surely as the energy of love heals the soul, the works of love (inspired by faith), are not only virtuous, they lead us to greater levels of virtue.
