The old debate between reason and revelation, reason and belief, continues up to the present day without either side suspecting that what is at issue is the activation within the being of man of an entirely new faculty of attention. Jacob Needleman
As the science vs. faith battle wages to determine who is right and what is real, what each can miss in this philosophical tournament is the opportunity to lift up their eyes and see beyond the coliseum that hosts it – and walk outside, leaving the weapons and armor of the game behind and embracing the search for being.
Science creates rules that govern and limit how we see. Faith, a term which once meant something much more, finds itself reduced by modern Western thought to nothing more than another set of rules, creeds, and systematic theology – a flattened version of what it really is.
Faith, in its essence, is not a set of rules. Faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
Faith is knowing that the deepest, truest desires within us are real. This means that our longing for love, transcendence, meaning, purpose, acceptance, and connection to the divine is not an unrealistic outlook. Faith gives us confidence that these desires are the most genuine thing about us.
And faith is the assurance that these longings, which cannot be seen with the eyes of objective consciousness, can be trusted to lead us to their fulfillment. And they can be trusted precisely because the divine, transcendent God who created us planted these inherent desires within us. He designed us with these invisible desires to seek Him so that he can fulfill them all in communion with him.
And all we have to do is to see this truth in our spirit, accepting it by faith.
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Source Scripture
Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:33-34
Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 11:33-36
Connect
Twitter: @AwestruckPod
Email: info@awestruckpodcast.com
Extras
Nature has so formed his human features as to portray therein the character that lies hidden deep within him; for not only do the eyes declare with exceeding clarity the innermost feelings of our hearts, but also the countenance, as we Romans call it, which can be found in no other living being, save man, reveals the character. Cicero
The eyes are the window to the soul. And with that simple metaphor, we tend to imagine the human soul as a stationary house that others may peer into and catch a glimpse of who we really are.
And yet, who we really are is anything but stationary. We are on the move. Our eyes are not just the window through which others see who we are, they are the lenses through which the light within us flashes outward, serving as an illuminating guide. Or, in simplest terms, a lamp.
When our inner being is filled with divine light, our eyes emanate that light, and help us navigate this life in truth and love. But when our inner being is full of darkness, our eyes will be equally dark, and everything we do will will be nothing more than stumbling in that darkness.
Today we focus on the connection between being and doing, and keeping the inner fire burning so that we see clearly to light the world.
Source Scripture
Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 11:33-36
Connect
Twitter: @AwestruckPod
Email: info@awestruckpodcast.com
Extras
The Awestruck Podcast musical playlist
(Apple I Spotify)
Paradise Now – Tim Mackie of The Bible Project