Faith is about who God is .......... Parables 602

July 7, 1998

I used to argue with my mother about evolution. She believed in a six-day creation by God and I thought horses used to be the size of small dogs.

One day, after a few major failures, I invited Jesus Christ into my life. I wanted His forgiveness and help with what I had ruined. At that point, the creation/evolution conflict was not an issue. Sometime later, I realized that I no longer believed the horse thing. I had much the same belief in creation as my mother. My mind had somehow changed although no one had tried to convince me with various points from either theory. I had read the Bible, trusted God, and despite so-called scientific evidence to the contrary, my position changed without any effort on my part.

Descriptions of experiences like this cause some people to think Christians “park their brains” when they embrace faith. They wonder how a thinking person could possibly believe that there is a God or that He created the world. This especially includes the scientific community.

Several years ago, someone researched this issue. They discovered that many founding fathers of modern science were Bible-believing Christians. This includes names like Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, Louis Pasteur, Francis Bacon and German astronomer, Johannes Kepler.

For instance, Kepler reasoned that since the universe was designed by an intelligent Creator, it should function according to some logical pattern. In his day, other non-believing scientists thought the universe was a product of chaos, therefore had no order. Kepler countered that a chaotic universe was inconsistent with God’s wisdom. Because of his faith and thinking, we now have a better and more accurate understanding of the consistency in planetary motion.

In more recent research, it has been noted that 40% of the scientific community professes a belief in God. The writer who reported this number seemed surprised. The percentage turned out to be the same as statistics before this century. He thought that since more “scientific evidence” had been discovered, more scientists would dismiss God and embrace evolution.

In my experience, faith seemed to sidestep the creation/evolution debate, yet I realize that faith is not about believing something without evidence. Nor is it believing in spite of evidence to the contrary. Instead, faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” based on a deep trust in God and in what He says. If it opposes other theories, who is right?

In relation to how the world was formed, God says “what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Believing that God created all things is not based on what I can see or not see or figure out by my own reasoning. My faith is based on what God has revealed about Himself and my trust is in Him. When I ask “Is God telling the truth?” — faith says, “Yes, He is.”

Faith is reasonable. If God is the God described in the Bible, God can make a universe out of nothing. He can do whatever He wants, even form a spiritual dimension or reality that is totally unlike those things we can see, yet exists parallel to them.

The Bible says sin has flawed human reasoning. We cannot always depend even on our own common sense. Gideon is one example. He went into a battle against a Midianite army of more than 100,000 but God told him his army of 32,000 men was too big. God thinned it to only 300, then instructed Gideon to use a battle tactic that was absurd.

Gideon’s faith saw both visible and invisible realities. He knew he was hopelessly outnumbered. However, he did not allow what he could see to detract from what God said. His faith went beyond what his common sense told him. He believed in the unseen God — and won the battle.

Faith is not blind but accompanied by inner vision. Faith sees past theories and suppositions because it is focused on God and His Word.

Finishing Well .......... Parables 528

October 8, 1996 ?

A few years ago during the Mexico City Olympics, a marathon runner finished the race so far back that people wondered why he bothered. He gave this reason: “I do not represent my country to start the race but to finish it.”

In any endeavor, finishing well is an accomplishment. No matter what we set ourselves to do, obstacles appear in our path. Sometimes they throw our focus away from our goal. Sometimes they trip us and slow us. Sometimes they put us right out of the race.

Boredom does that to me. I take on a challenge that seems important in the beginning but slow down or quit because my interest level drops. The only way I overcome that obstacle is through making sure of my initial commitment. It also helps to remember that interest levels are like emotions; they come and go. True commitment remains and continues to motivate.

Sometimes I slow down or get sidetracked by other concerns. For instance, if I am in school and a there is a crisis in the family, I will skip classes for the family’s sake. They rate higher on my priority list. Priorities are based on values and include those things we want to maintain or keep in our lives. Our values shape our daily decisions—from what to eat for supper to where we put our check mark in an election. Conflicting values cause problems. They can prevent us from finishing what we start by continually sidetracking us.

Fatigue is another obstacle that delays or prevent finishing. A difficult task drains energy and strains emotions. Stress increases. Stopping for a rest is one way to overcome this obstacle. Another is to learn how to work smarter, not harder.

Losing sight of the outcome can also trip us up, like a knitter who loses the pattern and cannot remember what how the sweater should look. Visualizing results is important so we know where we are going. Otherwise, projects are left unfinished.

According to the Apostle Paul, our race through life is not a simple dash. It is like an Olympic marathon. Our “finish line” is to become perfect reflections of Christ. Since we are not yet what we will be, we strive toward that goal. Running well and finishing well require endurance, but we also have a set of obstacles to overcome if we want to reach our prize.

Mixed priorities can entangle us. As Jesus said, some distractions are like weeds. They choke out our response to the Gospel and prevent God’s Word from producing fruit or results. He defined these weeds as “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of riches.” Worry takes our eyes off the loving sovereignty of God and riches easily become an idol and our goal. Either obstacle can choke our faith and slow our progress.

Fatigue, of a spiritual nature, also affects Christians. In our battle against the devil’s lies, the world’s temptations, the lure of our own sinfulness, we sometimes trip, fall and grow tired of trying to win. However, the Bible says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Another verse says, “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

We need to continue with our eyes on God’s promised results and rewards. He assures us that the good we do will have an eternal effect. He guarantees that those who trust Christ will reach heaven. When we do, we will be like Him. What a great reward!

As for boredom, some assume the Christian race is dull, but boredom is seldom an obstacle for anyone who is in the running. When we give our lives to Christ, we become His representatives; we make a commitment to start the race and He makes sure we will finish it.

Focusing on the forbidden? ............................. Parables 033

Have you ever noticed that the word that really stands out in a list of words is the one that is misspelled? Or that the kids may behave themselves for hours but the first little squabble is the thing that gets our attention?

It seems to be a human characteristic to notice the errors, the out-of-harmony, the imperfect. We even tend to focus on the things that someone else says we cannot do. How many children will touch the stove, just to see if it’s really hot? How many people test the wet paint, even with the “wet paint” sign plainly visible? Our jails are full of people who push against the legal, ethical, and moral limits in our society. Resistance to outside authority is the common expression of a very human attraction to the forbidden. 

Christians are often challenged from this point of view. “I could never be a Christian, you have too many rules, too many things that you can’t do.” Again, their focus is on the forbidden.

This attitude has its roots in a character who Jesus Christ calls “the father of lies.” It began when the serpent came to Eve in the garden of Eden. His approach, although new to her, has become very familiar to us, in all its variations. “Didn’t God say you couldn’t eat of “every” tree? After all, Eve, what kind of a paradise is this if you can’t eat from “all” the trees?” 

Eve had been freely and innocently enjoying everything that was there to be enjoyed, but with the serpents suggestion, she lost her perspective. She began to look at the one thing that God had forbidden her to have. It began to have an appeal. Forgetting that all her desires were already being perfectly fulfilled, she took the forbidden fruit. In doing so, she gained what she thought would be good, but she lost everything else. Ever since then, the human race has been unable to relate to paradise with restrictions.

It is not easy to focus on the positive. Afraid that we will miss something, we are drawn to the negative, to the forbidden. In doing so, we lose, lose our perspective, and perhaps lose much more.

Jesus Christ tells us that since He is “the way, the truth, and the life,” we can keep our own lives moving in the right direction by steadfastly focusing on Him. He has never been affected by the negative or the forbidden. He is the perfect role-model, and in following Him, we will have “the light of life.” This light helps us to see beyond the negatives to the abundance of positive things that are ours in Him.

The Apostle Paul, in giving his life entirely in service to his Lord and Savior, was able to endure the negative because He looked beyond them. He said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 

Christians are by no means deprived by not involving themselves in some of the activities that others do. Instead, we are freed from bondage to those things. He has opened our eyes to see Him, the life-giver, and He takes our focus off the forbidden things that others think they cannot live without.



(Amusing note: when this was first published it had to be retyped from my hard copy. It went into the newspaper with thirteen spelling mistakes.)