Conspiracy theories seem to be everywhere. Folks can fall for unsubstantiated stories whizzing around on social media without having seen any evidence to back up their belief. Others would say that seeing is believing, and unless there is indisputable evidence they won’t take a risk. Yet what we believe can determine the path we choose and the way we live our lives.
I don’t think it’s that difficult to believe in something we can’t see. We believe that the chair we’re sitting on wont fall apart when we sit on it. Why? Well, we know a thing or two about chairs don’t we? We’ve seen them before, and got some experience of how they work, and we’ve seen others sitting on them and not fall off. We’ve tried some out for ourselves and we trust that the design of the chair won’t let us down.
Someone might have told you that there’s a brilliant film out and you need to see it. They may rattle on about how good it is, and about a special effect that blew them away, or describe a particular moment when the hero had to take courage and head off into the unknown. Maybe it even changed the way they looked at some aspect of life. But if you haven’t seen it yet, unless you see it for yourself, you’ll never fully believe what they’re telling you and it will be difficult to share their enthusiasm.
In many respects, faith is about believing in things we haven’t yet seen. Long ago a man named Paul sent letters to friends who had started to believe certain radical things about faith. Paul wrote this: We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (Extracted from 2 Cor 4 New Living Translation)
Pressed on every side by troubles. Is that how you feel today? Have faith that things will get better; have faith that you can get up again after being knocked down; faith can help you get beyond the current struggle and believe that it won’t always be like it is right now. There is an unseen story unfolding, have faith to believe it.
Main photo credit: Dole777 via Unsplash
Bob Fraser
Bob Fraser is a singer-songwriter, men’s group leader and Regional Director for CVM aiming to open up conversations about life and faith.
Sorted discusses the big issues of the day – focusing on subjects as diverse as culture, sport, cars, health, faith, gadgets, humour and relationships. We aim to be positive and wholesome in all we do. And we have been achieving this since 2007.
Every printed issue of Sorted is read by more than 100,000 men in 21 different countries – while digitally, the number of people reading our online content (free and via subscription) continues to soar.
Beyond the banter: Pressed on every side by troubles?
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Conspiracy theories seem to be everywhere. Folks can fall for unsubstantiated stories whizzing around on social media without having seen any evidence to back up their belief. Others would say that seeing is believing, and unless there is indisputable evidence they won’t take a risk. Yet what we believe can determine the path we choose and the way we live our lives.
I don’t think it’s that difficult to believe in something we can’t see. We believe that the chair we’re sitting on wont fall apart when we sit on it. Why? Well, we know a thing or two about chairs don’t we? We’ve seen them before, and got some experience of how they work, and we’ve seen others sitting on them and not fall off. We’ve tried some out for ourselves and we trust that the design of the chair won’t let us down.
Someone might have told you that there’s a brilliant film out and you need to see it. They may rattle on about how good it is, and about a special effect that blew them away, or describe a particular moment when the hero had to take courage and head off into the unknown. Maybe it even changed the way they looked at some aspect of life. But if you haven’t seen it yet, unless you see it for yourself, you’ll never fully believe what they’re telling you and it will be difficult to share their enthusiasm.
In many respects, faith is about believing in things we haven’t yet seen. Long ago a man named Paul sent letters to friends who had started to believe certain radical things about faith. Paul wrote this: We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (Extracted from 2 Cor 4 New Living Translation)
Pressed on every side by troubles. Is that how you feel today? Have faith that things will get better; have faith that you can get up again after being knocked down; faith can help you get beyond the current struggle and believe that it won’t always be like it is right now. There is an unseen story unfolding, have faith to believe it.
Main photo credit: Dole777 via Unsplash
Bob Fraser
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Sorted Magazine
Sorted discusses the big issues of the day – focusing on subjects as diverse as culture, sport, cars, health, faith, gadgets, humour and relationships. We aim to be positive and wholesome in all we do. And we have been achieving this since 2007.
Every printed issue of Sorted is read by more than 100,000 men in 21 different countries – while digitally, the number of people reading our online content (free and via subscription) continues to soar.
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