we could divide the world into three kinds of people. (actually there’s an old joke that says there’s three kinds of people in the world. those who can count and those who can’t.) but you can divide the world into three kinds of people. first would be those people who have doubted. the second group would be those people who haven’t doubted yet but who will. the third group would be those who are brain dead! because if you seriously contemplate your faith in JESUS CHRIST then it’s almost inevitable that sooner or later you’re going to have some issues, some questions, some hesitations, some uncertainties or some doubts over one thing or another. that’s not just a CHRISTian experience. that’s a human experience. there are a lot of atheists that doubt their position from time to time.
so the issue isn’t whether or not we’re going to catch this virus of doubt. you probably will if you haven’t yet. the issue is what do you do once you’ve got it. how do you prevent this virus from ravaging your faith? what can you do?
so what is doubt? there’s a lot of misconceptions of what doubt is all about. many people think that doubt is the opposite of faith. but it’s not.
it’s a very common misconception. actually the opposite of faith is unbelief. and there’s a big difference between unbelief and doubt.
what is unbelief? unbelief is a willful refusal to believe. it’s a deliberate decision to deny GOD. but that’s not what doubt is.
doubt is to be indecisive or ambivalent over an issue. it’s to be hung up between certainties and uncertainties. sort of up in the air over a particular issue.
you may have questions or concerns about some facet of the CHRISTian faith. in fact you can have a strong faith and still have some doubts. you can be heaven bound and still have some uncertainty about some theological issues. you can be a full-fledged CHRISTian without having to feel like every single matter of faith and life has been 100% absolutely settled in your life.
it’s been said that struggling with GOD over the issues of life does not show a lack of faith. that is faith. that’s what faith is about.
just a thought from the front porch…
3 comments:
Only God can help our unbelief, thanks for sharing.
thank you for your comment, toyin. and you are so right.
Christians often believe that asking questions is a sign of weak faith (or much doubting). I disagree. If a person does not ask questions how are they going to understand and believe the truth...? God gave all the answers to all the questions in his word. It is our job to seek true understanding of God's word - ask as many questions as you want, there are answers and explanations to all of them.
Thanks for sharing on your blog. Feel free to check mine out when you have a moment: http://healingleaf.wordpress.com/
Have a great day!
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