Maker of 2 + 2

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Faith…. We can speak of having great faith as if it is abnormal.

But who do we believe?

The mathematician who has proved that 2 + 2 = 4

Or the person who says 2 + 2 = ?

Really, if God is who he says he is, faith should not be “faith” in the way it is often used. Faith should be automatic. He is the true Reality, the I AM, the Creator, the Beginning and the End, the Fear of Israel, the First and the Last. The omniscient, omnipotent, invisible, God only wise (1 Timothy 1:17). In other words, he not only knows 2 + 2 = 4, but makes 2 + 2 = 4.

If the Protector and Governor of the Quarks says he will protect us, should we doubt?

If the Provider and the Giver of Rain says he will provide for us, should we waver?

If the Good Father and Namer of the Stars and Balancer of the Galaxy Clockwork says he is working for our good, should we question even in suffering?

The question is, who do we BELIEVE God is?

The question is, who do we believe OURSELVES to be?

We think faith is abnormal, because we put our perceptions, our self, at the center instead of God, isn’t it? We focus on what we ourselves can see, taste, touch, define. On what we think is safe. On what we think is security. On what we think is good. But can we really see what 2 + 2 equals? Am I capable of seeing the equation? Of providing protection against all the randomness? For providing security in all the storms? How can I assure my life-good when I stub my toes and burn my sauté and undercook my eggs?

Trusting me, the queen-of-best-laid-plans-of-mice-and-men, is abnormal. But we make it normal. Faith is the natural, normal response to who God really is. Doubt is the natural response when God is made a lowercase god. How upside down our world is.

“How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself became life and walked in our midst? Christianity either means that, or it means nothing. It is either the most devastating disclosure of the deepest reality of the world, or it is a sham, a nonsense, a bit of deceitful playacting. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of those things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between.” (1) 

If God asks me to go, why does it take “faith” to go? He is absolutely trustworthy, absolutely knowledgeable. May my eyes be opened to see Him as he truly is!

NOTES

(1) N.T. Wright, For All God’s Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church (Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans 1997), 1.