Let's be comfortable with uncertainty
Dan Edelen reflects on the place of uncertainty in the life of discipleship:
When did "I don't know" become the hardest thing for Christians to say? Why do some Christians feel compelled to answer life's every question? Some of the men through whom God spoke, men who wrote the very words of the Bible, weren't so bold as to provide a running discourse on every subject imaginable. Some had the nerve to sayAmen, Dan. In the text I'm preaching on this morning (Rom. 7:13-25), Paul admits he doesn't understand something as close at hand as his own actions. Too many arguments among Christians, it seems, are about matters we simply don't and don't need to understand right now. Is it not enough that Christians have certainty on all points that really matter: the goodness and love of God, the offering of life through his son Jesus Christ, the assurance of salvation and membership in his kingdom? Let's praise God for the simple Truth he has revealed in Jesus Christ, and trust him to take care of the rest.
Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin. --Proverbs 30:18-19 ESV
The writer of Proverbs here didn't try to erect an entire epistemology to explain these wonderful things. Why do so many Christians today think they can do better? Has God left us no enigmas at all?
posted by Milton Stanley at 7:07 AM
5 Comments:
A nice point Milton. Perhaps as Christians we feel that we must know all the answers, else we consider ourselves not truly in close association with Christ. Yet when we let ourselves go and submit fully to Jesus, knowing all the details no longer matters most. We change from a child always asking the father “why” and “what for,” to a servant following the Lord’s lead, knowing He has the plan and direction.
Thanks for a great reminder this Sunday morning.
Absolutely. It seems to me we are called to confidence in a person, not certainty in our understanding. We don't like walking by faith, and can feel insecure if it's not all tied down.
Yet there almost seems to be even a "deliberate ambiguity" in the Scriptures. Learning to live with ambiguity in some areas of faith has been a key challenge for me over recent years.
Thanks, Forrest. And thanks for sharing your work and process at Paint at Play. Peace.
You're welcome, Dan. Thanks for the consistently strong posts.
Amen, Keith. I agree that there seems to be a deliberate ambiguity in much of the Scriptures. Why? To make us look, I believe, beyond the Scriptures to the living Word they proclaim.
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