In the book of Hebrews 11, a number of historical figures are commended for their Faith, as examples of believing in a Truth when observable facts seemed insufficient to justify their hope. From Abel to Enoch to Noah to Abraham to Moses to Rahab, these people acted on something intangible, yet potent.
In all these cases, these Heroes of Faith were vindicated when what they believed without visible reality turned out to be indeed True. As Chapter 12 begins, a call to action to the rest of us echoes out. In light of these examples, to lay aside any weight, and any sin that keeps us from running with endurance the race that is set before us. Verse 2 then gives the secret key to this endurance…looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
I’m temperamentally a logical person. I look at facts, and come up with conclusions based on those facts. I then make informed decisions towards a desired outcome. It’s all clean, and defensible. If I happen to be wrong, I can look back to the data that informed the decision, and either conclude that I had false or inconclusive data, or that I interpreted the data wrongly. Either way, I can take responsibility with my conscience clear.
One of the most profound things about becoming a follower of Christ has been the realisation of how small a World, purely based on what can be seen, really is. As a devout pragmatist, choosing to walk a path that isn’t logically defensible has taken everything in me, and some. I have fallen flat on my face numerous times, started on a Faith-driven path and taken a detour along the way when it became too much, or delayed Faith-based decisions until it became clear I was being steered in that direction.
Here’s where the Faith journey hits hard, and no wonder many don’t embark on it; The Unexplainability of the Result. Faith doesn’t operate on a simple cause and effect principle, because it factors in elements beyond our understanding and control. Take Abraham for example. The Man left his home country, went on a trip through unfamiliar terrain with his whole family, to settle in another land, a stranger among strangers. All this on the instruction of a deity he didn’t know, who promised him Children more numerous than the stars, though he was old and childless. Somewhere along the way God promises him a Child, who shows up 25 years later. The boy is barely grown when Abraham is asked to go sacrifice him, which he does, and we know how that Story ends. He comes back home with him, and the rest is history. But then, a plot twist; the descendants about whom this whole business was about endure Thousands of years of slavery, subjugation, wars and exile, finding no lasting Peace to date. Which would lead a logical sceptic to ask, so what was Abraham’s walk of Faith all about?
That my friend is where Logic falls short, and why many times I find myself repeating the Prayer of the Father in Mark 9:24, “I believe, help my unbelief’. Look around you. The confusion, the desperation, the noise. Doesn’t it make you question the limits of pure Rational Wisdom? Everything we have achieved by our effort as Humanity, be it in societal structure, technology, wealth creation or politics, seems to leave us with more questions than answers. Every new generation undermines the progress of the former, terming it outdated or barbaric or just plain wrong. Materialism and it’s pursuits seems to be taking Humanity on a unending rat race that often feels tiring and pointless.
Logic and Facts alone seem to crack under their own weight when life requires us to act without certainty. Moments requiring us to make decisions on morality, purpose, meaning, love, sacrifice, dignity, or hope cannot be backed by observable or measurable metrics. You will agree that this happens in life more often than we care to admit. Like choosing between two equally good career paths, deciding if you are ready to marry the girl you Love, or discerning generous giving from irresponsible stewardship.
Theists and Atheists agree on one Truth; that within us is something unseen, untouchable, unexplainable, but one that operates on a Principle far deeper and more complex than anything Science or Religion has yet fully unearthed. It has been given many names; Universal Law, Objective Morality, Conscience, Spirit, Soul, Divine Order. That ‘Something’ transcends any known Fact, has existed at least as long as Humanity itself, enduring generations and millenia, yet underpining every effort and every achievement known to Man, whether he acknowledges it or not.
One Man in History dared to call himself The Way, The Truth, and The Life. He was killed for it. History records witnesses who claimed that that same Man rose again 3 days later, as he had foretold, and as had been foretold hundreds of years before. In one stroke, this claim shattered the boundaries of Fact and Truth, making this Man the new Standard of what is and what isn’t. Wars have been fought over him, lives lost, nations and Kingdoms upended. He remains the most pivotal, and controversial global figure of all time, inspiring love and hate in equal measure to-date. There’s no middle ground with the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Learning to be like him has meant a constant effort to fuse Fact & Truth into something called Faith, where the acknowledgement of Fact does not limit my ability to hope, to dream and to pursue meaningful outcomes like peace in the midst of Chaos, or praying for Miracles when everything looks futile. In the process I have experienced things I cannot logically explain; like unmerited forgiveness, instant physical healing and miraculous provision, all from placing my trust in the words of this Man, Jesus. It is not lost on me that Abraham’s obedience was part of a chain of events that led to the emergence our Lord and Saviour. Amidst the turbulent history of the Israelites, pure logic could not have weaved together the complex historical web that led to our spiritual redemption 2000 years ago.
I am unlearning a Logic-centered life, limited as it has proven to be, to expand my scope view to also embrace the Faith-based realm of possibilities beyond what I can think or imagine.
