I was thinking about how much we dislike what doesn't make sense.
Today I listened to people argue about how many jobs had been lost or created during the Obama presidency. Their numbers were as different as whipped cream is from wallpaper. That gap doesn't make sense to me.
Yesterday I did my monthly M.S. treatment. While the nurse was cramming a needle the size of a Big Gulp straw in my arm we casually talked about a medication I stopped taking because I didn't need it anymore. He told me that some Neurologists think you should never stop and others say you should only take it when you need it. That difference doesn't make sense to me.
I have a wiper on my wife's car that's broken. It will wipe one direction and then not return. It just hangs off the windshield as if it were waving at the world. Why did one break? They've both been used exactly the same amount from the moment the car was born. They both have faced the same weather. They both were made with the same specifications. Everything wears out, but why did just one of them transform from a wiper to a waver? That reality doesn't make sense to me.
We don't like it when things don't make sense. "I don't like onions and love onion rings." My wife and I have had that conversation. I know I have issues that don't make sense to others.
My conclusion - the alphabet of faith has to have letters in it we can't pronounce to be faith. If not, it would be impossible to grow. God is present in questions too. Faith is required to have dark shadows of the unknown. Maybe we fixate on the shadows to the degree it's impossible to bask in the sun. I know the shadows are there. I'm ok with that. It's better for me walk in the light than to complain about the shadows. When HE wants me to see there, HE'll show me.That makes sense to me… kinda.
Welcoming Feedback:
What doesn't make sense to you about faith?
Can you find peace in questions?
What doesn't make sense to non-faithers about faith?
Pastor Dave
2 comments:
I often wrestle with the question of why some people seem to face tragedy after tragedy while others seem to make it through life unscathed.
I've talked with non-believers and one recurring question seems to be: If God is so good, why do bad things happen to people who love Him? I've thought that myself before.
I keep coming back to 2 truths. One, this world is not my home. No matter what happens here, I look forward with anticipation to a day when I will be free of all the pain and hurt this world contains. Second, God and His goodness are way too great for my mortal mind to understand. I have a tendency to view God through my finite lens. I end up getting frustrated when things don't seem to make sense. But I have to remember-my view is distorted. I don't have the ability to see as He sees. And so, that's where I rest in faith-knowing my great big God is good even when stuff doesn't make sense to me.
What doesn't make sense to you about faith?
It doesn't make sense to me how God works in my life even at times when my faith is so small.
Can you find peace in questions?
Sometimes I've asked questions and peace finally came when I turned my questions over to God.
What doesn't make sense to non-faithers about faith?
Non-faithers can't seem to make sense when we put an impossible situation into the Hand of God and trust Him for the answer. God never fails so hopefully the non-faither will change and begin to trust in God.
Wow, my brain is tired now after answering your questions. I hope I got an A!
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