“I no longer believe but I see and experience.”
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Have you heard people say, “I believe that is true?” I know I’ve said that many times. What does that mean? Well, it usually means there is some question as to whether it really is true or not.
We often ask people what they believe about certain aspects of their faith. Perhaps the better question would be to ask what they have seen and experienced in regard to their spiritual life. That would be a much more exciting answer. It also is not open for debate as the “I believe” statement is.
Do you want to “share your faith” as we often say in the Christianese? Then tell what you have seen and experienced. They may not fully understand but they cannot prove you wrong.
You haven’t experienced anything? Then go ask someone who has seen and experienced why they believe.
1 Peter 3:15 “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
© 2005 Lisa Biggs Crum
1 comment:
"We often ask people what they believe about certain aspects of their faith. Perhaps the better question would be to ask what they have seen and experienced in regard to their spiritual life. That would be a much more exciting answer. It also is not open for debate as the 'I believe' statement is."
I used to say the same thing. A problem I think that has is that it feeds into an attitude of relative truth. I used to say, "Well, they can't argue with my experience." And while that's true, I've also offered them no compelling reason to believe as I do. They can say, "You're a Christian, and you've experienced X, Y and Z? I'm glad that works for you. But that's not my cup of tea." The Gospel stands in stark contrast to that. It's not about me or my experiences. It's about objective truth about God and His relation to man. It applies equally to all people. And if the message is actually understood, many are likely to object to it, because it demands something of them.
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