In chatting with someone recently, they told me that they had never questioned their religion/faith. They never had questions or doubts, in fact it was their belief that Jesus had been really honked off at Doubting Thomas, because he had wanted to see proof. I think it’s amazing when anyone tells me that they have complete, unwavering, faith in anything without ever having tried it out, or asked a question. Now that is a true gift of faith. Trouble is, I don’t buy it. Who would buy a car, or a house without ever viewing, asking questions or inspecting it? That’s a vital part of the purchase process, or at least it should be! What about in a learning situations, isn’t it important to ask questions? Questions show the teacher that you are attentive, and earnestly trying to understand, they are expected and encouraged. There will be times when you might even disagree, but that is part of education. Faith is a special, supernatural gift from God, based on our belief in Him, and obedience to his word. How can we truly believe unless it is proven to us? How can we have faith unless we have tested and retested Him? Does that tick God off? I sure hope not, because I’m like one of those kids in class with my hand raised all the time! While I don’t doubt God, I have doubts and murky areas that require clarification, and He’s more than happy to enlighten me. Jesus taught his disciples by going over and over a topic. He not only declared his word and plan to them, he demonstrated it as well, until they “got it”. Don’t ever confuse mindless, unquestioning acceptance with faith. Luke tells us about the Berean people in Acts 17:11, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Go ahead, question, examine, even kick the tires, all of which pleases God, and increases our faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment