Take a look at this photo…it highlights the topic of discussion, “You’re gonna need it to get into heaven.” Do you really need a leap of faith to get into heaven? Have you ever heard someone say, “Take a blind leap of faith?” I certainly have! It sounds exhilarating. It sounds dangerous. It sounds spiritual….and it sounds a bit ridiculous. But in a religious context we think it all the time. In fact we sometimes encourage others with that very phrase…“Just take a blind leap of faith man!” When it comes to having faith in God, or scripture, are we called to take blind leaps?
Does faith necessitate taking a large leap, hoping the outcome is beneficial? The quick answer, I believe, is no. Let me ask you, how do you know that what you are studying in the bible during your small group time is capital T – Truth? Do you believe it is, or do you know it is? We all know God asks us to have faith. So what is the difference between knowing scripture is true, and believing it is. Let’s start with “what is the difference between faith and knowledge?”
Faith is having evidence (facts) to support what cannot be seen. (Heb. 11:1)
Knowledge is having evidence (facts) to support what you can see.
For example: If I tell you I have a coin in my wallet, you can gather the facts.
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Wallets are made to hold coins
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There are a lot of coins in the world.
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Most people do carry coins in their wallet
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I told you I do (you trust me?), etc. These are your facts, but you cannot see that I have a coin in my wallet. I am asking you to have faith.
Now, if I was able to, and was with you beside your computer/phone (which would just be weird), I could show you that I have a coin in my wallet. Then, friends, you would KNOW what I said is true. That is the small difference between faith and knowledge.
What I am getting at is that God never asks us to take a blind leap of faith. Faith that is blind is really not faith at all. If you have no basis for what you believe, no support, then it is not faith (at least not the faith God calls us to). What God calls us to is less like a blind leap and more like a logical step. God desires that we have evidence and facts to support what we cannot see. The bible is full of evidence of the seen and unseen!
So let me ask you two questions that are hopefully a bit thought provoking and maybe you can ask your small group, too
1. Why do you believe what you believe?
2. Do you have the evidence to back it up?
Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
~Chrissy Duke
Here are some books with more depth regarding this post: Case for Faith, Case for Christ, For a Reason, and THE BIBLE!
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Amy Carle
June 10, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Great thoughts Chrissy! That’s a frightening picture – and not at all what I think of when I think of faith!
Ours is not a blind leap of faith because our faith is entirely focused and dependent on the object of our faith – Jesus Christ. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Our leap of faith,
if you can call it that, is trust in action – in forward progress – as you said, “a logical step”…because we have been convinced, persuaded, we have accepted these things as the capital T – truth – can I use that in my CG? It’s challenging b/c stepping out in faith does not mean, “I am safe” – but it does mean, “God is good. He is trustworthy and His Word is true.”
John Ortberg has some interesting thoughts about the leap of faith:
“[The idea of a leap of faith] has frequently been misunderstood. It does not
mean choosing to believe an impossible thing for no good reason. Sometimes people talk
about it as if it is the “leap” in which you ignore evidence, give up on reason, and
embrace fantasy. But leap was Kierkegaard’s term for a genuinely free action. Any freely
chosen commitment is a leap, such as the choice to marry or to bear children. The move
from innocence to sin is also a leap.”