Faith, part II

Some people say they know God is real because He answers their prayers. Or they say, God knows what I need because some person came to help me with something but I didn't tell anybody that I needed it, so how did they know? It had to be God who told them.

I've had these experiences as well. And it makes me feel good, and at those times I want to say, "Yes! I *know* God is real!"

The truth is, I believe God is real. My experiment isn't complete yet and I feel insincere when I say, "I know".

I'm trying the "faith" experiment. I've had moments of prayer where the ideas that came to me seemed to be different than what I normally think. They seemed out of place in my head, as if someone else had put their ideas there.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if an idea is "yours" or not. But sometimes it's pretty easy. It's like this:

Free image from pixabay.com

That's my actual house. Notice the doll upside down in the mixing bowl? If it's not obvious to you, I'll tell you: the dessert definitely did not originate from this kitchen.

So then what happens after such a thought enters my head is ... YUM! 

And at least once, the idea that has appeared in my head has been something I had never thought of before. Like seeing a UFO and you can't describe it because it's literally like nothing you've ever seen. Yeah, like that.

So I act on the thought. And I like the outcome. And then I think, maybe there's something to this religion thing. If "they" were right about the effectiveness of prayer, what else could they be right about?

So I give it a go. And I think, "Maybe it isn't necessarily God who set this all up, but it works." So my faith, as it always has been, is practical. "It works, so I'll believe it."

One verse of scripture that has made a big impact on me is John 14:11, where Christ is speaking to His disciples about His divine nature. All the stuff that comes before this verse is all well and good, but when Jesus says this to his disciples, it hits me hard: "Believe me that I am ^ain the ^bFather, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake."

The "work", in my understanding, is to bring people to a higher understanding of their own potential for goodness. That's something I believe in. So I'll do what Jesus said. I'll do the work He asks me to do, because I believe in the work.