Belief

“Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself.” -Unamuno, as quoted by Madeleine L’Engle in her book Walking on Water.

So many events of the Bible are about giving a physical, earthly, tangibility to spiritual realities. Consider the quote above in the context of Jacob wrestling with an angel. It is not in our nature to arrive at true deep spiritual understanding easily. It comes about by honestly wrestling with our uncertainty and doubts. I wonder if that is, at least in part, what “working out our salvation” involves. As I grapple with tough issues of life, and faith, openly bringing them before my Father, I can be assured that I will come out of it with an enlarged capacity to understand the depths and width of God’s love for me.