Faith that is Blind

One of the temptations of modern Christianity, as discussed yesterday, is having a blind faith, a faith that doesn't want any additional information about God and isn't really looking for Him in the world. It believes what it believes, and it doesn't need more data. 

But another temptation of modern Christianity, at least as pervasive as the first, is a faith that is blind. 

That is, we can believe so strongly in God and what He's doing that we no longer see ourselves as responsible for anything or as needing to grow or to change or to really even participate. We can believe so much that God loves us and will just take care of everything that we come to believe just as much that we're perfect just the way we are and that nothing is required of us. 

There is a version of this that comes out of the too-simplified statement, "Jesus loves me." It's the idea that Jesus loves us, so there must be something about us that's lovable, and that Jesus loves us just the way we are, so there's no need for us to ever change. That's not the version of this kind of blindness of faith that we're talking about today. (That particular version is so ridiculous that it should not require elaboration to see how false it is. It has also been widely discussed.)

No, this version of a blindness of faith believes that God is going to do what God is going to do to me and through me and for me and that all I have to do in preparation...is wait. That's it. I just have to be patient. I just have keep doing the things that I'm doing, keep living the life that I'm living, keep praying the prayers that I'm praying, and God is going to do it. In His time. 

I don't have to prepare myself. I don't have to study differently. I don't have to pray differently. I don't have to live differently. I don't have to change my attitude or grow my heart or work on my weaknesses and blind spots. I don't have to do anything because whatever God is doing through me, He's doing through this me. If it's not happening right now, that's not because of me; it's just not His time yet. 

In other words, because I am not responsible for what God wants to do in this world, I am not responsible for whatever role I might play in it. I am not responsible for being ready. I am not responsible for being qualified. I am not responsible for any of it. It's all God. It's all Him. All I have to do is be alive and...voila! Watch Him do it. 

This is a difficult frame of mind to combat, for any of us. It requires us to understand a lot of things that are, honestly, much easier to not concern ourselves with. We have to understand what it is that God wants us to do. We have to understand where it is that we're not quite ready for the mission yet. We have to understand what we can do to help ourselves grow into what God wants to do through us. And we have to also stay patient because even if we are ready, that doesn't mean that God is ready or that the world is ready. 

We're just one piece in the puzzle, but we're one piece in the puzzle. And we do need to put in the work to make sure that our rough edges are rounded out so that when God needs to lock us in, we fit. We're ready. It's seamless. 

One of my prayers for this season of my life is that I would not have a faith that is blind. I'm not prone to a blind faith; I'm too enamored with God to stop looking for Him. I can't wait to discover all of the little things about Him. But a faith that is blind is a struggle for me, just as it is for all of us. It's harder to look at myself and know that I'm not ready. It's hard to motivate myself to change when I'm not sure exactly what it's for or when my day is coming. 

But that's a bit of a lie in itself, and if we want to live a faith with eyes wide open, we need only realize it as such. Not sure what it's for? Not sure what my growth and change and development and maturation are for? Not sure what my discipline and direction are for? Not sure what my prayer and worship and study are for? 

They're for God's glory.

Which isn't just going to happen one day when I'm just being me. I have to be His. And to do that, I have to have a faith that sees.