Life is an interesting journey. Along that journey I’ve found that my education and practical background comes back to haunt me. I’m not talking about my higher education - that causes too much rivalry talk. No I am thinking about high school and specifically the echoing sounds of Ms Craig, “Why? How? Prove it.” Ms Craig was a lady who stood tall at 4 foot nine. She no more could fill a door than a pine tree. Nearing 60 she still thought it good to run every day after classes. Ms Craig stood tall in the classroom. She held court in the halls of Geometry presenting obvious squares and circles for proof. (hold up a circle) What’s this? She would ask. A circle the class would respond. Prove it. (hold up a square) What’s this? She would ask. Prove it.
Geometry is about mathematical logic. While we commonly accept at face value that a circle is circle, a square a square, a triangle a triangle, Ms Craig taught us to question our presumptions and take our given data to prove our theories.
That is the education and practical background that haunts me today. I investigate and research everything. My success in Ms Craig’s geometry class led to my engineering education where research tested theories that became designs that became reality. As a design engineer, I was taught to dream, and dream big; then, make that dream become real. All along asking the questions Why? How? - Why does this work? Why does this not work? How can we fix it?
That also got me thinking about faith. Why? How? Jesus, who? Resurrection - is that logical? Let me run that through the simulator. I was raised in the church. Still, the more I learned the more questions I began to ask. Not so much out loud, quietly and internally primarily.
Frederick Buechner affirmed this questioning faith, “Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don't have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.” The questions, doubts, and skepticism can be a good thing as long as we search the well of truth. There are many questions, just ONE answer. It sounds oversimplified, but Jesus is the answer, he is the way, the truth, and the life. We have many questions, He is the answer. We have doubts, He is the peace that passes all understanding. We are skeptic, He is living proof. We seek a way to live, He walked the walked. We wonder how we can afford the future, He called us to rely upon the Father. We seek help for our relationships, He showed us the perfect way to love. Many questions, ONE answer.
This week I'll seek to affirm this seeking faithand affirm the challenge to the future. I'm preaching at Franklinton UMC in Franklinton at the invitation of my friend Rev. Judi New.
