Every Good and Perfect Gift: What is Faith?

I once met a man who had lost one foot and had just been told he would lost part of his other foot.  He had something to say about how this relates to faith.  We look at the age old debate of salvation through faith vs. salvation by acts.  We consider a bit of a different perspective to try and see if we can find a way out of the seeming conflict.  Is there a way to look at faith that does more than conclude that a person with faith will want to live out that faith?  Just what does it mean to have faith?  Perhaps that tells us what really matters.