Big Belief. July 15 2020. Rev. Karen Fitz La Barge
What do we believe? Why do we believe it? What does it take for us to believe that something is true? The most common reason that we believe is because of direct evidence. Basically, something happens to YOU and cognitively you cannot explain it any other way than to believe it. This could be a conversion or a personal healing experience. This is the level of belief that was given to the majority of Jesus disciples. They themselves, with their own two eyes, saw the risen Jesus, and they believed.
The second reason why we believe is because of a convincing eye witness. This accounts for the next generation of converts to Christianity, and it is still the basis for many people’s faith today. Do you believe in God because of the witness of someone you know and trust? Was it the belief of your parents or grandparents, or the convictions of a Sunday School teacher or a Pastor that convinced you? For many it is so. But was that person a reliable witness? Can our beliefs go too far?
Yes, indeed they can. I could wholeheartedly believe that I will cure my Covid-19 by injecting myself with bleach, but my belief in my new cure will not save me from dying from the poison that I have just put in my veins. Our human power to convince ourselves to believe false things is very powerful and it can also be very dangerous. –Which is why we must always test what we believe and always be open to new evidence. The scientific method is the formal name for the process where if we hold something to be true, we then can test it (safely) in multiple ways from many perspectives to see if that belief is reliable and trustworthy. This is how new discoveries are made, and how new medicines are developed. This is how humans figured out how to fly and how to even send astronauts to the moon.
Our belief in God and in Jesus Christ is a big belief that shapes much of the rest of our lives. That belief is chosen perhaps because of a personal experience, or through our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.
–Perhaps for you it is that sense of comfort and peace that came from God walking with you through a difficult time in your life. This belief is reliable because it is and has been tested throughout your many life experiences.
Or perhaps today, you may find yourself in doubt about the existence of God and in doubt about your relationship with Jesus Christ. In that case you are invited to test it to see if it is true. –Learn about the historical evidence for Jesus and the testimony and the martyrdom of the early Christian disciples. Talk to those who have worked in hospice care, or to someone who had died and came back to life. But most importantly, open yourself to the practice of daily communication with God through prayer. Talk to God and spend some time in silence opening your heart to the presence of God. You just may receive the encounter and the big belief that you are looking for.