Why do so many people today find faith and trust so difficult? Is it possible that we first need to master what we know before we understand what we believe? The Old Testament words of Isaiah says: “unless you believe, you will not understand”(7:9) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian of the 1930 – 1940’s who was killed by the Nazi’s, wrote that unless you obey, you cannot believe. Bonhoeffer raised the price of belief to obedience.
These comments and thoughts are not to discourage the human search for knowledge, quite the opposite. Rather it adds the need to bring the human search to a level of recognizing the gift of faith. Faith in the mystery of creation, faith in the simplicity of love, faith in seeing solitude around us as a gift and a blessing. Even faith and trust in ourselves and those of our family and community gives us the exercise and experience we need in our daily lives to know the gift of faith.
We need not separate ourselves into categories of what and how we believe. We merely need to seek to grow in faith and then we will understand. It is not difficult. It is as simple as we hear Jesus exhorting us to become like children and learn to trust, reminding us to tap into the trust that comes naturally for a deeply loved child. (Matt. 13:14)