It Takes A Fool

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. – Isaiah 5:21 (NIV) 

I’ve heard atheists and agnostics argue their cases quite persuasively. The argument that experiential evidence should constitute the basis of all human reason is quite compelling. And the view of faith as a conjecture of our imagination seems quite fascinating. Following these lines of argument thoroughly can make it easy to quaintly dismiss faith and religion. 

But then I think about the human motivation to do things that absolutely defy the logic of human experience. Such as the motivation of John Lewis, who challenged the lethal monolith of Jim Crow with an audacious courage and a profound faith in the everlasting righteousness of his cause. 

And I think about truths that are more wondrous than even the best of what I could ever imagine. Like the truth of unjust suffering being redemptive, and the truth of the universal being embedded in the specific, and the truth of the denied stone becoming the cornerstone. 

And I think about the drive to commit to things that offer no guarantees of rational dividends. Like the commitment to love and to cherish, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part. 

When I think of the things that make life meaningful but lie outside the purview of physiological reason and research, I realize that all of life cannot be comprehended solely through the lenses of our intelligence or empirical evidence. 

The quality of life I want to live requires a certain foolishness.

Prayer
Lord, I thank you for the divine love garnered through my illogical beliefs. Amen.

About the Author
Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia.