“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Surely the devil has requested you, to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you return to me, strengthen your brothers'” (Luke 22:31,32).
Doubt is not necessarily the enemy of faith. When we walk through the wasteland of doubt and our faith wavers, or perhaps even fails, it is possible to respond to doubt in a way that makes our faith more vibrant afterward. And a faith that is strengthened in this way is not only more valuable to us; It is of immense value to the people around us.
Syrian-born mystic poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Doubt is a pain so lonely that it does not know that faith is its twin brother.” When we consider this matter we realize that this is true. Both faith and doubt are related to the invisible. They both face questions to which, at least for now, there are no complete answers. In the face of these questions, faith softens our doubt with reverence and gratitude, and doubt makes our faith more seasoned and mature. It is doubt, properly dealt with, that takes our faith out of the nursery and into the real world.
The faith of a man who has never doubted may be absolutely true; His faith may, indeed, be pleasing to God. But comparatively speaking, that person’s faith requires less faith Than a man who has survived seasons of doubt.
To see this point, compare faith with courage. Courage is not the absence of fear, but doing the right thing while experiencing fear. Although it may be possible to speak of the courage of a man who has never faced any significant danger and therefore has no reason to fear, how much more admirable is the bravery of a man who has actually struggled (and not always successfully) against both danger and fear! Likewise, the people who know the most about faith are often those who have the most experience with doubt.
There is no need to put on a show or run away from difficulty for real faith. Instead, faith accepts doubt with honesty, recognizing that troubling questions are inevitable in a world where our sins have hidden God’s face from us. Doubt creates faith and belief.
“Isolation has led me to contemplation, contemplation to doubt, doubt to a more honest and intelligent love of God” (Marie Lenreau).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
