Reasoning for Faith

So, unfortunately for you the reader, I have finally decided to add another entry to this “blog” of mine. You have been warned!

The topic for this entry is faith. It’s a pretty broad topic but I want to focus on spiritual faith. Personally, faith is something I struggle with daily. I have a very skeptical brain inside this head of mine. If I don’t see the logical thought process, or physical evidence of something I see, I don’t believe in. Example- Illusions. People love “magic” for some reason. It’s entertaining to most. But, I feel like the person on stage is trying to insult my intelligence. I find myself saying “There is no way you cut that lady in half! Show me how it’s done!”. Obviously, he/she is just doing their job, entertaining and captivating audiences. But because of my thought process, I can’t enjoy the “show”.

Now unfortunately for me, this same thought process often carries over into my view of God. I often catch myself thinking about whether or not God actually exists. I start to think about how I’ve never personally experienced a miracle, and it plants a small seed of doubt. And I ask myself if God is real or not. At this point you’re probably shocked I’m saying this. You’re probably wondering to yourself what I’m doing at a Christian school if I have such weak faith. Well to answer your questions, I don’t. I question sometimes, but I never stop believing and it’s all because of a few select reasons.

Reason number one I remain faithful- The Wind. As childish as it sounds, something as simple as the wind helps me keep my faith in God. Sure wind can be explained away with science, but it can’t be seen or fully harnessed by man. Wind is one of the most powerful and destructive forces on earth, it can also be something that creates beauty. Outside my house back in Poland, NY we have a willow tree, and when the wind gently blows and the branches start swaying on that tree, it’s an awesome sight to me. So sometimes when I question my faith, I remind myself that God is like the wind. You can’t exactly see how He works and why He works, but you can fully see the effects of His work.

Reason number two I remain faithful- Sailing. You probably think I’m crazy by now, but I have a point here, I promise! When I begin to think about wind, it gets me thinking about sailing. No I’ve never gone sailing, and no I don’t know which side is the starboard. But I’ve always been fascinated with it. I never understood (and still don’t fully) how it works. It’s a mind-boggling concept to think that you can use something as simple as a sail, to catch the wind and have it bring you to the destination of your choice. From this point I get to thinking about the sailors themselves, and how much faith it would have taken to trust your captain once out at see. Personally I would be terrified the wind would stop, or it would blow us in the wrong direction, or that a giant octopus will burst from the sea and destroy the ship. But sailors remain faithful and do the tasks appointed to them. And because they remain faithful, they reach their destination safely. The same goes for staying faithful to God. Things might get hard at times, or that giant octopus may really attack, but if you remain faithful to Him, He will see you through it and brought safely to your destination.

Reason number three I remain faithful- My Grandfather. This is the biggest reason I’ve remained strong in my faith through the last few years. My Grandfather, Paul Surprenant, is probably my hero. He is a true man of God, and I will feel accomplished in life if I ever become half the man he is. Through the last few years my Grandfather has had a huge struggle with health. He has some problems with blood clots in his legs, which got worse over times. The doctors put in cadaver veins, and did surgeries, and therapies, and gave him medicine, but the end result was that he had to have both legs removed. I made this story quick, but this happened over several years and it definitely was not an easy time for him, or the family. Through the entire process I was constantly praying. Probably harder than I have ever prayed before. I grew up in church with my Grandfather standing at the door as an usher greeting people as they entered the Sanctuary. I was so upset that this was being taken from him; he loved church so much, and took pride in being an usher. And through all my praying, he still lost his legs. I got upset with God for a brief time and wondered why, as many people do in situations like that one. But then I caught onto something as I spent time around my Grandfather. He hadn’t lost faith. I watched him several times (probably unaware to him) pull out his daily bread and Bible and do his devotions. I watched him sit in a wheel chair during worship services at church while everyone else around him is standing, and he still has his hands raised, worshipping God like nothing had changed. It made me realize that I had no right to lose faith in God. If he could go through all this, and still love God with all his being, then what reason did I have to question God? So it’s through my Grandfathers example that I keep a strong faith. To me, he is the shining example of A True Man of God.

So that’s my ramblings for now. Thanks for reading and I hope you may have gotten something from this.

Knowledge is Power

Since Chapel this morning I've been thinking non-stop about knowledge and what it is and what it entails, so I've decided to start "blogging". (as the cool kids say) I want to warn you now that this is not the place to look for proper grammar and spelling. If you enjoy that kind of stuff, read a book. So now begins my incoherent ramblings!

It was Tuesday morning and there  in the Flower Chapel in the front row and paying close attention as always, I sat. (second to back row, zoned out, thinking about what will be served at lunch) Sometime during the message part of chapel the subject of knowledge was brought up. I started paying attention and it paid off, I was blown away by a statement Professor Douglas  made. He said "The beginning  of knowledge is fearing God". Since chapel I haven't been able to get this out of my head. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much truth was in this statement. 

Intelligence is easy to acquire. You read some books, you study, you apply yourself in class, and the next thing you know you're getting straight A's and considered part of the "smart crowd". But what is intelligence without wisdom? I've always thought of wisdom as knowing HOW to use your intelligence and the knowledge you've acquired throughout your life. You could know every mathematical formula and every element on the periodic table, but if you don't know what to do with that information, it's a waste. 

The main type of knowledge I'm trying to talk about here I guess is ethics, and things of that nature. Lots of people have good ethics and a fairly good world view. But if they don't have the wisdom to fear God, then it's a waste. Everything starts with this. We need to remember that God is an all powerful being. Yes, He is our friend and Father, but we can't lose sight of how awe inspiring He is. And I fear there are too many intelligent people out there who have good morales and upstanding ethics, but they lack the simple knowledge that they need to fear God. 

Some of the smartest people in the world are, to put it bluntly, simply dumb. Sure they could talk circles around me all day, or fill a white board with a math formula that would make me want to run away, but they lack wisdom and are therefore lost. All of these gifted individuals throughout the world, whether they are philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, musicians, authors, artists, and so on are simply lost. And it makes me sad. They have been gifted with great knowledge in their field but lack wisdom. It's such a simple thing, but so many people struggle with it. 

In conclusion I just want to say that I hope you or I never lose the wisdom given to us. Also, if you don't yet have the wisdom to fear God, then I pray you will someday find it, and through this find salvation. I also pray that all of the people out in the world who have I.Q.s higher than I can count, will find this truth. (obviously I want everyone to find salvation, not just smart people!) 

Thank you for making it this far through my crazy thought process and improper grammar. Please feel free to comment, I love discussing stuff like this with other people!