I copied this quote from an article that was being passed around the internet a few weeks ago.
"My doubt is actually part of my faith.
In Mark 9:24, a man says to Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief.” The Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor called this the foundation prayer of faith. I pray that prayer often and believe that God honors my honesty.
I also believe God honors my longing. The writer and theologian Frederick Buechner said “Faith is homesickness.” C.S. Lewis called it “Sehnsucht,” a longing for a far-off country. I feel that sense of unshakable yearning. It comes from the deepest part of my heart, a spiritual desire that’s strangely, mysteriously connected to my doubt.
Sitting in church every Sunday, my doubt is my desire – to touch the untouchable, to possess the presence of God."
Isn't this an interesting way of looking at doubt as a natural part of faith? Instead of brushing doubt under the rug, this man highlights it and tries to connect it with faith. I personally can't focus on doubt because i think that makes doubt grow and faith weaken. But I love that very humble plea to the Savior: I believe, help my unbelief. Maybe recognizing the weak points of our faith allows us to rely more on Jesus Christ for support and to receive more faith in return. It's his desire or longing for divinity in life that I identify with.
1 comment:
I can really relate to what this person has written. Although I haven't always put it that way, I think my doubt is also integral to my faith. I have always had, and still have, a lot of doubts; sometimes I wish that I had fewer (I enjoy reading about your spiritual feelings and admire how strongly they have been a part of your life from a young age). But at the same time, I have to confront my doubts on an almost daily basis and still remind myself that this is what I have chosen and I am going to see it through. It is an exercise of faith even though I don't feel that faith has come naturally to me. I really liked reading this.
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