30

January

Faith adds God to every equation

“There is a calculus to theology that defies conventional logic.  What we believe isn’t logical or illogical.  It’s theological.   Faith adds God to every equation.  When you do that, five loaves plus two fish equals all-you-can-eat for five thousand people.  And there’s more left over than you started with!”- Mark Batterson

“Man can always be blind to a thing as long as it is big enough.  A thing can be hid by being big.”- G. K. Chesterton

Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 1 of A Million Little Miracles as he contrasts reason and awe.  Yann Martel grew up an atheist.  But he came to believe in God while writing his award-winning novel, Life of Pi.  And the prompt to Martel’s soul-searching?  He was sick to death of being reasonable.  Above all, Martel contends, reason simply functions as a tool.  In and of itself, reason fails to give one a reason to use it.

Certainly, Pastor Batterson acknowledges reason as a gift from God.  However, reasonableness doesn’t ring the bell.  Instead, revelation, rather than reason, reveals our raison d’etre.  Because reason offers no explanation for suffering or beauty or love.

Consequently, Mark stresses, the feeling of awe represents one of God’s greatest gifts.  And awe comes in a lot of shapes and sizes.  Above all, by definition, awe defies definition.  Although we don’t have words to define awe, it’s unmistakable when we experience it.

Therefore, Pastor Batterson explains:

“Where do we find awe?  The answer is everywhere! . . .  Awe is more of a mindset than a circumstance.  It might have more to do with pace than place.  The psalmist said, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’. . .  The slower you go, the more you notice!  There’s something about awe, no matter when or where we experience it, that deactivates the default mode network in the brain.  This is how heaven invades earth!”

You’ll find a million little miracles right under your feet.  You only need to do one thing — take off your shoes!

Today’s question: How do you find that faith adds God to every equation?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “

About the author 

Dave Henning

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