Thought for Today
Psalm 146:5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
Habakkuk 2:4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, "I believe; help my unbelief!"
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Last night, our Bible Study discussed the verse above from Mark. I have always been struck by that father’s prayer, "I believe; help my unbelief!". Along with the tax collector in Luke’s gospel who prayed “'18:13 ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'” these 2 prayers seem to me to be among the most sincere and honest prayers in the Bible. During the years of my own faith journey, I have prayed both prayers.
As we discussed that distraught father in Mark, desperate to find help for his son, the question was offered for discussion, “Can one have faith and doubt?” Faith is one of the bedrock elements of being a Christian. My theological dictionary defines it thusly, “In Christianity, belief, trust, and obedience to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. It is the means of salvation (Eph. 2:8-9) or eternal life (John 6:40). Faith affects all dimensions of one’s existence: intellect, emotions and will.” That is all well and good; but, I find the definition from Hebrews more satisfying, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
I’m not the only engineer in our Bible Study. I like to think of engineers as pragmatic, practical scientists. We are, by nature, problem solvers. We are carefully trained to analyze problems, to assemble all the relevant data and the applicable scientific principles and then to apply the data and principles to solving the problem. That is who we are, the essence of our being. Yet, almost every engineer I know or have known has been a person of faith, a Christian, Jew or Moslem. We are also pragmatic, practical believers, people who live with that assurance of things hoped for, that conviction of things not seen.
Is it possible to have faith, to believe and still to have doubts? I would rephrase the question as , “Is it possible to have faith, to believe and not to have doubts?” Whenever the topic arises, I like to point out that even Mother Teresa confessed to having doubts. “Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu MC . . . , better known as Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. Born in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire, at the age of 18 she moved to Ireland and later to India, where she lived most of her life. On 4 September 2016, she was canonised by the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. The anniversary of her death, 5 September, is her feast day.” (Wikipedia)
The Bible teaches us “Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness . . . “ Certainly that ‘image’ is not restricted to a mere physical imagery! God has given us inquisitive and resourceful minds with which to think and imagine. While our created minds are not the equal of the mind of our Creator, we do have them for a purpose. We are called to study the history and the thoughts of our ancestors-in-the-faith, to read and ponder the inspired, revealed Word of our Creator God as presented in the Bible. As we do so, as we try to reconcile the events of thousands of years of history with thoughts of our ancestors, as we listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and as we then look at the world around us, it seems inevitable to me that doubts will occasionally arise.
Many of us live in large, metropolitan areas. Yet, “Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” Much as I loved Texas and much as I love New England, I’m sure I am no longer in the garden of Eden. As an engineer, the only garden I ever tended was behind our garage (also NOT Eden!). I’m equally sure that neither Texas nor New England qualifies as the Promised Land.
I am sure that all Christians are called to till and keep the ‘garden’ of Christendom. Part of that calling is the study of scripture. Part of that calling is to critically examine God’s Creation, to search for and nurture our own callings to service in Christendom. We must faithfully read, discuss and ponder on God’s word and God’s world. And, we must look forward to the Kingdom of God, where God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We’re not there yet, but we are on our way. As we proceed on our journey, doubts will inevitably arise . . . and we too can pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'” "I believe; help my unbelief!"
Stay safe, think, pray, trust God,
Pastor Ray