Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Now, what do you suppose prompted my friend’s former colleague to phone-call him, on this particular day? Ten years later? Without any previous communication or contact between them? Just out of the blue? And here’s an even deeper wrinkle… why this particular person, for whom the life situation was just the reverse ten years earlier? Why not just a close friend? I know it sounds flaky and half-baked to say that God’s hand was in this. I know that it doesn’t stand up to reason. I know that there’s no way to “prove” it’s not just a coincidence. (Which is why it’s called faith.) But, on the other hand, there’s no way to “prove” that gravity exits either, except by observing its effect on certain objects in relationship to other objects. Because of the way that objects interact with one another we conclude that there must be a “force” that causes this particular interaction even though we can’t directly see “gravity.” And there’s no way to “prove” that quarks and neutrinos really exist either. No one has ever actually “seen” one. We commonly accept that they exist because of the way particles behave and don’t behave when certain forces are applied. In a similar way when I observe certain coincidental events, or coincidental meetings between people, or coincidental experiences that are shared, I “see” the Spirit of God working. Answering prayer. Guiding and directing with counsel and wisdom. Planting thoughts. Opening our eyes of awareness. Softening hearts. Healing broken bodies and spirits. Shaping and forming a new Spirit inside the human heart—all because it was asked for in one way or another. For me, I choose the way of faith as I interact with the world. Because I believe that God’s Spirit is still very much active in the world. I see evidence of it by its effects on people and events. I observe it over and over, even though I can’t “prove” it, and even though I can’t “see” it directly.
The Bible talks about it this way, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1). Actually, this is really a perspective from which to interpret the world and make sense of life—a biblical perspective. It’s a way of doing life. A way of interacting with the world.
I love the way of faith. I find it to be very life-giving. I’m thankful to God for leading me into it. It allows me to catch glimpses of the divine mechanics behind the multiplex networks of life.