No Proof is Possible

Stuart Chase, an American economist of the last century, once wrote, "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible" (For those of you who maintain that nothing of value can be learned from television, I first heard this quote on the series, "Criminal Minds"...and, yes, I could have also learned it from reading).

Two things pounce upon me from this insightful quote. First, the foundational principle is "belief"...or we might say, "faith." What we believe to be true is based on something that happened a couple of millennium ago passed down to us through the lives of the faithful and an ancient book which cannot be supported by original documents. Truly this is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb 11:1 NIV

Though it would really be convenient for us in "The Way" to be able to point at something and say, "See, this proves we are right!" those kind of proofs just don't exist. And even if "proof" does exist for us internally, through personal experiences or the experiences of others of whom we have heard, that doesn't mean they are convincing for those skeptical of our faith.

That segues us to "pounce" two. The burden of proof does not lie with us. Though we must witness to the Truth (Acts 1:8) which we have experienced, the responsibility for proof of truth lies with someone else. Only God can undo unbelief and reframe it as belief. He IS truth. God must interrupt the contentment of the unbelieving with a longing for himself...a felt need to fill the God-shaped void in the soul. Until that happens, "no proof is possible."

May we recommit ourselves to be relevant people in the lives of those God interrupts!

Life done plain

A recent conversation reminded me of a moment of family history. The conversation had to do with the need for the church to be "salt" for its community. My mind flashed back to a moment over 40 years ago. We were returning to the Philippines after a year of furlough and were doing so via a Norwegian freighter. This freighter happened to have a swimming pool; and though small, it promised to be the hit of the trip...once we got into warm water.

You see, the pool was simply filled with water from the ocean. Finally nearing Hawaii the pool was filled and the three of us boys spent most of the day in it. The salt water was a little surprising, but not daunting. That evening, after dinner with the Captain, my younger brother, Chris, climbed up on the Captain's lap. He was about 5.This happened frequently because my toe-headed brother reminded the Captain of his own young son. Needing to know, Chris looked into the Captain's eyes and asked, "Why do you put salt in your water? I like mine plain." Laughter erupted after a minute of trying to figure out what Chris as referring to.

It seems life done plain can certainly be preferable. Salt, though healing and preserving, brings a sting that is unpleasant and sometimes painful. Most of us spend time, effort and money to avoid pain when possible. But when it comes to our lives together, I pray that we might make a new effort to give and receive "salt" gracefully and in love.