A Simple Faith

I just want to say that I am incredibly grateful for the simplicity of God's way. While it is probably the most difficult way to take, it is simple. It's not complicated, nor are we expected to understand all of the ins and outs before we take it, we follow in faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7- For we walk by faith and not by sight.

Isaiah 55:9- For as heaven is higher than earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

It's been an interesting few weeks at work at the Surin Rajabhat University. The school hired on another foreign teacher after the last one quit mid-year. This guy is from Chicago and things started off quite strangely to be very honest. The first day, after learning I was a Christian, he ridiculed me for Creationism and how stupid the belief that a God created and maintains this earth is. A simple "hello" would have sufficed for day one. He has since proceeded to go around the room, each teacher experiencing some ridiculing, highly intense "discussion" about one thing or another. For the other foreign teacher, it was how ridiculous his PhD was in Japanese studies, why study a difficult foreign language, that's stupid. Well, things seemed to be getting out of hand for awhile. It seemed that nobody could do right in his eyes, he was a science teacher from Chicago who talked to you in conversation like a lawyer talks in a courtroom. The Thais couldn't really take it and generally avoid him now.

But after he had an episode with one of our Thai friends, I confronted him and told him that the way he was talking to people was extremely abrasive. Honestly, he's got to be about the most abrasive sort I've ever met. Since then, he's tapered off a bit. He's not as eager to dig into an argument with everyone. Still, he has told me he respects me, which might sound all good except that means he wants to talk every day now. So yesterday held an interesting little "discussion".

Yesterday it was about how people in older times were ignorant and stupid compared to us, since we have modern ways and technology. The premise was that learning and science and modern advances are what makes a good society. I disagreed, I said that people are basically the same throughout the ages, just with different circumstances (technology and so on). That somehow turned into the garden of Eden, where he ended up stating that God was unforgiving (wow...) and that Adam was stupid and ignorant, not really knowing what he was doing. Everything he said he was trying to implicate God somehow. But I wouldn't budge on that one. I gave him scripture after scripture where God told Adam EXACTLY what he was to do/not to do, and what would happen if he disobeyed. Adam knew what he was doing. If God is unforgiving, what is the cross? And so on. Once he saw that wasn't working, he switched to predestination and God's omniscience. Wow, now that's a changeup. He was trying to corner me by asking if I believed God knew everything that would happen. I said yes. Logically, that would mean that we are robotic, simply acting out what God has already set in order to happen. I said, No. This terribly frustrated him, and he began to get upset (a normal occurence mind you). "That can't be, you can't say that". I then demonstrated to him, using scriptures how that God says he knows all things, and yet He gives us a very real choice to do right or wrong. So God does know everything that has, can and will be, and yet gives us a real choice. He was bubbling with angst at this point. He pointed at me and said, "You are irrational!" I simply gave a little smile and said, "That's fine with me. Because God has said that His thoughts are much higher than our thoughts, and we cannot understand everything about Him. For me, that's just fine." With that, his face was already turning purple, and I thought it might explode. So he sat down without bringing it up again for the afternoon.

So why do I tell you this? To tell you how great a debator I am? Please, no. I am not the prize fighter in a debate, I generally hate confrontation. But I saw something yesterday that bears repeating, and that's the power of God's word and a simple child-like faith.

Hebrews 4:12- For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.

Matthew 18:4- Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I saw that God's word can stand on its own feet. God doesn't need me to have all the answers to this man's questions of the Bible and science, what he really needs is a word from God. After talking with Leah about all this (she was there during the whole episode), we both concluded that there is a world of hurt masked behind this abrasive facade. Pray that we can reach out through that to a hurting heart that desperately needs the Lord. But I hope you are encouraged as you interact with people everyday. We have no need to feel stuck or helpless in this world, God has given us everything we need. He has given us His words.