When I was 12 years old I put my faith in Christ, I believed He was my savior....did this mean my faith was so mature that I never doubted? No, were there times that I struggled? Sure...as with any relationship, I grew to understand how faithful God is.
In our sin, we are woefully inadequate in our understanding how faithful and trustowrthy God is. At first, the faith needed is blind (and we must always retain that childlike faith). But as we walk through life and see God's providence , our faith in God becomes cemented though this relationship. Even the Hebrews were told to erect standing stones after God providing for them, as a testament of His provision, so that all may look and be reminded of God's faithfulness.
We put our faith in HIm in the beginning and continue to learn how much we can trust in Him in our relationship. One can say that faith beomes less and less "blind" as we grow in our walk. God gives us those "holes" in His hands throughout our walk. Not because we doubt, but because see the results of His very faithfulness. Is our faith , then, any less real because we know God's faithfulness?
Because we continue to examine the mysteries of Genesis 1, our faith is to be questioned? There could be a myriad possibilities and our exploring these possibilities does not negate our faith that God did it! And the scripture is sufficiently mysterious to warrant continued wonder!
THis is why I do get frustrated when talking about this....it always seems to come down to a battle of faith...."We are more faithful Christians because we don't think about these things" (not a direct quote, but let's face it, people accuse us of not thinking biblically, that is really what they are saying)
And isn't it wonderful that in a relationship with Christ, we do get to see him, hear his words, and feel the warmth of His spirit and are not asked to walk blindly?forum monk wrote:I totally disagree z/g. Who has more faith; he who has walked with Him, talked to Him, held the hem of His garment, touch His nail scarred hands and then believed? Or he who believes having never seen Him, or heard the tone of His voice, or felt the warmth of His breath?