This month is a little different than most since I am slicing every day, so I wasn't sure if my regular way of doing things on here would fit in right. Well, I decided that Seeking to Become is most certainly part of my life and so I am going to proceed as usual.
I was conversing with an agnostic friend awhile back about faith, truth, and understanding. For many people, this might have been a frustrating or even angering sort of discussion, but I found it to be most intriguing and enlightening. I was put in a position of pondering on all the whys and hows of my beliefs and faith. We were able to walk a stretch in each other's shoes for the experience, strengthening our bond of friendship.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Some people define faith as the belief and hope for things not seen. Well, it is fine definition, but there is more to faith. I actually believe that faith does have its evidence. The proof comes as a undeniable personal witness that no one else can measure. As we trust in the Lord, he will enlarge our understanding through revelation, but faith and trust on our part is the first step. It is a type of seeing. And that is my definition of faith. No one told me to believe that, it is what I know from my own experience. Proof is proof whether or not you can prove it to someone else. That is the nature of personal revelation.
My friend brought up the topic of truth vs. understanding and this was where I knew we had a meeting of the minds, even if for a small moment. He said:
Pursuit of truth, to me, is futile. Only the pursuit of deeper understanding is valid. No more no less.
I love his phrase: pursuit of deeper understanding. That is exactly what God wants for us. I believe eternity is an onion of infinite layers waiting for us to pull back each layer in genuine seeking for understanding and savor the learning as we go along. God wants us to
learn every single day of our lives and not just sit by waiting for him to tell us everything. I believe trusting in the Lord and not leaning to our own understanding mean that we take in knowledge, but stop and pray for discernment. We must realize how our perspectives are ever shaped by our surroundings. So if we seek for true understanding, God will guide and inspire, helping us to understand despite our conditioning and bias.
As we begin the month of March, I hope you will join me in focusing on praying about the things we learn, that we will seek true understanding, and through our seeking we might see more clearly how God would want us to understand the world around us.
Related links:
Seeking to Become - February 2012
Seeking to Become - January 2012
Thank you for this inspiring post. I missed church this morning - kinda on purpose, but reading this was just as meaningful - perhaps even more. What a beautiful way to describe our faith journey.
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends watches scripture-based movies when she misses church. She calls it "home church". So glad I could be your "home church" of sorts today. Thank you for stopping by and enjoying the read! <3
DeleteAmen! Seeking to find out how God wants us to understand the world around us. Ongoing lesson for me, but one road that I am happy to travel.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the road we are all traveling? That is exactly why I started this series. Thank you so much for taking time to read and share your thoughts.
DeleteI did go to church this morning, and I was a little disturbed by the priest's homily because he talked about how we want to be the one in control and we want to tweak God's plan for us. I asked the question, "How do we know what God's plan is?" and he answered, "That's another sermon." Well, while I wait, I read your blog today. And the thing I like most is your honesty. This line spoke to me, "I believe eternity is an onion of infinite layers waiting for us to pull back each layer in genuine seeking for understanding and savor the learning as we go along. God wants us to learn every single day of our lives and not just sit by waiting for him to tell us everything." We must seek understanding through prayer. And the truth is we do not know and will never know. We must trust! We must have faith!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Love in Christ,
Margaret
I am heartened by your comments. I have wanted so much to reach out and have gospel discussion. Knowing that my words spoke to you encourages me. Thank you for taking time to read, ponder, and comment in this discussion. It is appreciated very much. <3
DeleteI am glad you engaged in conversation - to me that is what seeking to become is all about - for those with faith in God or those with faith in something else. Faith is about becoming so lets celebrate all the ways we do it.
ReplyDeleteVery well said. Our journey should be celebrated! Thank you so much for joining the conversation here.
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