Have you ever really considered what you believe? For a moment just consider how silly your beliefs must seem to others. It is not a pleasant exercise! This is why Christians tend to run in packs. We stick with those who believe as we do because the prospect of coexisting with others which hold drastically different beliefs is unappealing. Humans are strange indeed. We cannot simply keep what we believe bottled up. It leaks out all over the place. Try dining out on a business luncheon with a diverse group. In no time you've discerned that some are religious, some not, some skeptical, others aloof, and few are resistant to voicing their views. Christianity is different, too, in that we have a Spirit inside of us that never wishes to be silent. In my own experience, it is a rare person who does not find this uncomfortable! I attribute this inablity to stay silent about our faith as us being spiritual first and foremost, spirits which happen to reside in a physical body. We just can't help it!
Then someone asks, "So you believe God came down and impregnated a virgin girl two thousand years ago and she gave birth? To Jesus, right?" Mmmm. Yes. I believe that. And in the grand scheme, perhaps, this is not that difficult to believe assuming we believe the rest. God created the heavens and earth and all that reside in them. He made water come out of a rock in the desert and split the sea right down the middle so a nation could hike across on dry land. But if you are like me, and surely there one or two out there that are similar... then you are the kind who tries to understand. Understanding is something I value. There is never a time when I am reading scripture that I am not attempting to make sense of what I'm reading. Only... the virgin birth is not understandable.
God creating Jupiter isn't understandable.
Jesus walking on the ocean in the middle of a storm is not understandable!
We have a problem, then, if understanding is a prerequisite to belief.
Heb 11:3 ESV By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
I lean heavily on this verse because it relieves me of the burden of being me. I cannot understand. Not until I believe. I dare say that most things of God cannot be understood unless first believed. By faith... we understand. That is audacious. Only with the grit and determination of a true pioneer can one reach this thing we call understanding, because it requires a daring journey of faith first. Practically, then, we can use this verse to help us navigate the dangerous waters of the diverse luncheon. There is no sense in trying to convince non-believers of our beliefs, because they cannot come into belief by understanding. Rather, we love them. We love them into a relationship, which will lead them into an encounter with Him. Once they have that, their door is opened to believing the inconceivable.
