There was once a little boy name Josh. He was fascinated by
science and wanted to know how everything in the universe worked. Even as a
little boy Josh drove his parents and teachers crazy by asking complicated
questions that had complicated answers. When Josh grew up, he got a job in a
scientific laboratory working for the famous Dr. Reason. Dr. Reason was well
known for doing excellent research and producing scholarly reports on that
research. Josh enjoyed working for him and as the years passed he was able to
be a part of exciting research that answered so many of his questions about how
the universe worked. When Dr. Reason would finish a major project, he would
always publish an article in a well respected scientific journal about his
work. Josh loved reading those articles. They made sense to him. The research
was meticulous and the conclusions were rational. Dr. Reason was so careful in
his research that no one had ever proved any of the conclusions in his articles
wrong.
Josh respected Dr. Reason for the research and conclusions
that those articles represented, but the longer Josh worked for Dr. Reason, the
more their relationship evolved. In time, they became great friends, perhaps
even best friends. Dr. Reason would remember little details about Josh and use
those details to make Josh’s life more joyful. For example, Dr. Reason
remembered that Josh liked chocolate cake, and so he would bring chocolate cake
in when it was Josh’s birthday. Though Josh did not have quite as good a memory
as Dr. Reason, over time he realized that Dr. Reason like baked chicken. So Josh
would often bring a whole baked chicken to the lab for lunch and share it with
Dr. Reason. Dr. Reason was also willing to help Josh when Josh needed it. When
Josh’s car broke down, Dr. Reason gave him a bonus so he could get the car
fixed. When Josh’s grandmother passed away, Dr. Reason came to the funeral and
sat next to Josh and they cried together and found comfort in each other’s
friendship. Though the scientific articles that Dr. Reason wrote meant a lot to
Josh, it was only a piece of their relationship. It was all the other things that
really made them friends.
One day Dr. Reason published an article in a journal about a
project that he had been working on in a different laboratory. Josh had known
that Dr. Reason had a number of other labs where he was doing research. Josh
was vaguely aware of what was going on in those labs but did not know all the
details like he did in his own lab. When the new article came out, many people
did not like Dr. Reason’s conclusions. People began to come to Josh and ask him
how he could continue to work for Dr. Reason when his conclusions were so
faulty. Josh did his best to defend Dr. Reason’s work, but since he did not
know all the details of what was being done in those other labs, he was not
able to give as good an answer as he might have liked. Josh did ask Dr. Reason
about it, and though Dr. Reason explained it to him, the research and work was
so complex that Josh really could not fully understand it. But Josh tried to
explain it the best he could to those who asked him about it.
As the controversy intensified, many people said that Josh had
“blind faith” in Dr. Reason because Josh kept defending something that he could
not fully explain. Others said Josh had made a “leap of faith.” But Josh was
not moved from his belief in Dr. Reason’s abilities or intelligence. Josh
patiently explained to others that while he was indeed exercising faith in Dr.
Reason in this work that he did not fully understand, it was not “blind” faith,
nor was it a “leap” of faith. From Josh’s perspective, it was only a step of
faith, not a leap of faith. From Josh’s perspective, it was not blind faith, but
informed faith. Josh had this perspective because Josh knew Dr. Reason really
well. Dr. Reason had proved himself to Josh, not just in the scholarly research
and well written articles that had been published, but also in the friendship
itself.
Josh was informed enough about Dr. Reason’s work and life
and that he felt comfortable continuing working for Dr. Reason even though he
did not fully understand this particular situation. Others kept using words
like “blind” and “leap” and Josh kept explaining that it was an informed step
of faith, not a blind leap, but many people just could not understand Josh’s
perspective. At first Josh was frustrated with these people, even a little
angry at some of them. He even said a few things he shouldn’t have in his frustration.
But in time Josh realized that these people could not understand because they
did not know Dr. Reason the way he did. Though Josh really did want to know all
the details and all the answers about this project that Dr. Reason was doing,
he knew Dr. Reason enough to realize that in time, all would be revealed. Josh
was comfortable in his informed step of faith and remained Dr. Reason’s lab
assistant. Many people did not understand Josh’s choice, but Josh knew it was
the right one and so he was at peace with his choice even if others did not
understand.
Moral of the parable:
Many people say that Christians blindly follow a God that is
only revealed in the Bible. But for Christians who have built a relationship
with God, He is not just revealed in the Bible, but also in their experiences
with God. The Bible shows God’s work and parts of it are very easy to
understand and explain to others. Other parts are more difficult to understand
and explain to others. Those who are not Christians call it blind faith or a
leap of faith. But for Christians who have a personal relationship with God, it
is not a blind leap of faith at all. Yes, it is faith, but it is more of an
informed step of faith than a blind leap. They understand parts of the Bible
very well, and they know God well through their personal experiences with Him.
Their friendship with God and the parts of the Bible they do understand give
them the faith to believe the parts of the Bible that might not be as easy to
explain. Faith is required, but from the Christian’s perspective, it is a faith
that is well founded and makes perfect sense. Others may lack the ability to
understand the informed step of faith that a reflective Christian might make,
but to the Christian, it makes perfect sense.
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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:
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