Wednesday’s thoughts
HebrewsHebrews 11 begins by stating what faith is. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Christians have long taken this to mean that faith assures us that God will work things out, or that we don’t need to worry about what is ahead of us because God is in control. Other Christians have taken this to mean that we don’t need to question what we can’t see or understand if we have faith.
I disagree.
The rest of the reading for this Sunday tells us of the faith of Abraham and how he trusted in God to see him through some challenging times. True, Abraham was a man of great faith, but that is not because he walked blindly through life. Abraham questioned God, as did most of the prophets, and I believe Abraham questioned the path he was on.
In other words, if Abraham had Mapquest, he would have searched for his route to the promised land. He would have looked through the directions to see if the route made sense. Faith is the sense that God walks with us in the mapping out of our lives. We use reason and experience to help us know when the route suggested is not the one we should take.
What are your experiences with questioning the journey? What are your experiences with questioning the route that is offered to you? How does faith play a part in your questions and your life’s journey?
I would love to hear from you. Please email me at pameverhart@fcfumc.net or post here if you are comfortable with others seeing your responses.
Pam Everhart
Pastor
First UMC
1005 Stover Street
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970.482.2436
