Doubts

We all have those moments of doubt. Here's something to remember when you find yourself in doubt of elements of your faith; doubting is normal. There is nothing not normal about doubting because doubting is a natural result of our depravity. I do not endorse doubt in one's life by any means but I realize it to be a natural element of our lives. We can never live without doubt as long as there exists sin in our lives. Imagine that you could win a million dollars by letting Michael Jordan (the greatest basketball player of all time) to take a jump shot 15 feet away from the basket. If he makes it, you get a million dollars in cash, but if he misses you owe a million dollars. The odds are greatly in your favour. Even with the ball in the hands of the most trustworthy person in the world, you would still have a shred of doubt in your heart of, "what if he misses?" We are natural doubters.

Throughout the Bible we see character after character, person after person, doubting God and not trusting in the Lord. From Adam and Eve to Abraham, to Moses, to all of Israel, to the disciples and the early churches. Doubt creeps in all the time. One of Jesus' disciples is known today infamously for his doubt and hence dubbed "Doubting Thomas," In the Gospel of Matthew we are revealed to the "Great Commission" in chapter 28 verse 18 to 20. But in verse 17 we read, "When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted." (NIV) Even seeing the resurrected Jesus could not rid the disciples of their doubt. We all doubt to some degree and our doubts lie in unique places to each individual. My personal doubt mostly lied and continues to lie in understanding the "why" of God's plan. I constantly asked and ask even today, "Why would God make a world like this? Why would he allow these things? And why would he die for me?" Your questions may be different but doubt stems deeply in all of our hearts, even the most confident Christian, and it stems from our fear of being wrong. We don't want to be wrong about this. Another element that comes into play is our reliance in our senses. Aristotle's philosophy has shaped much of our modern physical science that relies on repeatable and observable truths. Our senses limit us to trust in what we see, touch, smell, hear and taste. So it is literally natural that we would not trust in a God we cannot see, touch, smell, hear or taste. So we doubt.

But doubt should not hinder you my brother or sister. Your doubts should be directed wisely to questions which in turn, with effort, should lead you to answers. As I tell my students, there is no question you can ask or think of that has not been asked before. The challenge is pursuing the answers to those questions. We are privileged to live in an era and an age that puts those answers in the palm of hands and at the tip of our fingers. We need only to put our effort into inquiring into the educated responses to the questions that concern our minds. Great thinkers and minds of the past have asked the questions that trouble us today, and to our benefit they have left us with a wealth of answers to ponder upon. I encourage you to ask as many questions as you can and put Christianity to the most rigorous of tests, so that you may find solace, as I have, in the truth of our faith.