I don’t think anyone in this church tonight who believes in God should feel bad if there are days when they find it very very hard to believe. (Frank Skinner, In Conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, September 2011)
Just believe.
Two words I have heard a lot in my life. They are words usually said with a great deal of fervour and passion, conviction and intent. A lot of the time these two simple words are meant to be taken as simply as they are said. Almost as if the matter of believing is as simple as taking two tablets and seeing how it goes in the morning. (And Moses will tell you, even that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.)
The journey of faith, as I am learning, is not one based on certainty from the human perspective. A lot of life is about getting used to the certainty of uncertainty – and that includes faith in God. For all the verbal proclamation of faith – confessing with the mouth – sometimes it takes more than that to actually comprise faith and it is often the case that the words and actions don’t match.
The most fervent, passionate speaker who talks about faith is often the one whose actions and overall behaviour suggests that their faith is placed elsewhere – as if there is doubt in that crucial element of faith where words and actions should meet.
This is why I am glad that faith is not a static thing. It is not a switch that you turn on and turn off. As I repent and then keep on repenting, so I believe but also must keep on believing. that gives every room for doubt – indeed the doubt is often the platform from which our faith is strengthened.
What Frank Skinner talks of is something that most people of faith can relate with, because even going through the routine of religious duties the heart of the relationship with God is the same as the ebbs and flows of any relationship we have. It’s not all the time there is the sweet, warm feelings of love. God does not condemn us for not always having mountain top experiences. Neither is God disappointed in our doubts.
That is reassuring, even as it is challenging.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
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