Faith + Reason = Belief || Hebrews 11:6 || Manna for the Mind #49

Welcome to Day 49 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today, we’ll be talking about having faith and confidence intertwined.

Hebrews 11:6

6             And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Believing in the existence of God is just the start of our Christian journey. Many scriptures talk about how becoming a follower of Christ begins with your belief that Jesus died for your sins and that he was resurrected from death to show that he is the Messiah that will lead us to eternal life. God won’t settle for just the belief, though. God wants us to commit to leading a personal and dynamic relationship. Our relationship with God should be the primary one in our lives. Our relationships with our significant others, children, family, friends, and all others come after our relationship with God. Our relationship with God is dynamic, meaning it’s ever-changing given our situations. God has a set path for us. However, we often will stray off that path due to our human instincts. God doesn’t leave us, though, when we do. He uses his staff and rod to guide us back on the path of righteousness.

The great church leader Augustine was among the first to examine the relationship between faith and reason. He concluded that believing in something is necessary to understand it, meaning proper standing follows a commitment to God. We can’t hope to understand God by human reason alone. Almost 900 years after Augustine was around, the great theologian Thomas Aquinas wrote that reason, while marred by sin, can know God through arguments and proof. Our reasoning that leads to our beliefs about God comes through arguments and proof, even though our reasoning is muddied by our sinful mindsets. The more we engage in these discussions about God and the Bible, and the more we try to rationalize the actual teachings of what the Bible teaches, the more we understand who God is and how we can live out his teachings in our world today. This understanding can transform our relationship with God, making it more dynamic and meaningful.

God gave us minds, and they should be developed and used. To not be open to continue learning new things is to live a stunted and naïve life. We should always be learning and open to changing our beliefs when new information comes into our lives. God has given us a gift of discernment, and we need to remain open to all information to see how our relationship with him can evolve properly and healthily. Remember how I said our relationship with God is dynamic; this is how it becomes dynamic. God wants our trust and faith, even while we ponder and wonder about the mysterious parts of life. He should give us our minds, hearts, and wills as we become Christlike. Christians don’t believe in a void or branch out into the dark. We believe through faith and by faith, which is reasonable. Still, reason itself cannot explain the entirety of our belief. We must use our minds to think through our faith but leave room for the unexplainable works of God. Be mindful and use that gift of discernment.

Sometimes, we even wonder about the fate of the unbelievers or those who were never introduced to God. God reassures us that those who honestly seek him will be rewarded. Those people act in faith in the knowledge of God they possess. They will also be responsible for what they have heard. I listen to a preacher I can’t entirely agree with 100% of the time. It’s a case of conservative views vs. progressive views. However, I still listen to him consistently. Why? It’s good to hear the opposing views to see if I’m misunderstanding something or if I believe it is accurate. The gift of discernment through the Holy Spirit allows me to interpret what’s true. It may not be valid for one preacher, but the more I hear the opposition, the more I’m open to learning more, and the more I get a well-rounded perspective of the Bible.

Hebrews 7:19 talks about the interpretation of the law and the role of the new covenant in our belief system.

Hebrews 7:19

19           For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

How can you draw near to God in 2024? The Bible shows that our body is God’s temple, a location for the Holy Spirit. Your spirit needs and wants closeness to God. You’d want to know the living God personally. Do this through your prayer practices, worship preferences, Bible studies, and fellowship and communities with instruction from other believers. These are areas of my life that I’m still working on. Bible study is routine for me, with the number of Bible study plans I listen to, the preachers I follow, and the study and preparation for these blogs. Prayer is not routine for me, but it is something I practice. Unfortunately (and fortunately), I typically pray in times of trouble and not typically lift my praises, but I’m progressing in this area. My worship preferences are relatively wholesome. I’m still working on the art of authentic public worship, but I can get into great worship modes in private. I want to attend Bible studies but can never find any around me. I’m considering leading a few at my church, so who knows?

Father God, thank you for the gift of faith and reason that helps me build a strong and dynamic relationship with you. Help me build it through the practices of study, prayer, and worship. Help me do these things in the most authentic and genuine way that gives glory to you. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.