There are a lot of things that you can do in 24 hours…sleep, attend church, run errands, sit at a coffee shop, visit family, go out to dinner…oh yeah and read a book! Don’t believe me? Well that’s exactly what I’ve done in the past 24 hours! Last night I started the book “O me of little faith” by Jason Boyett and this afternoon I finished it (after church and errands, while sitting at a coffee shop, and before visiting and dinner...hee hee). Basically it was a really easy read…but brought me a mixture of comfort and conflict all at the same time.
The book is about doubt…but not just any doubt….doubt in our faith. Right from the beginning the author acknowledges that he’s not a pastor, theologian, or even a bible scholar….just a man trying to walk out his faith to the best of his ability in the midst of his doubts. I think that’s important fact to remember when reading this book as at times I found myself having internal debates with the author in my mind over his current belief system. None the less I love the fact that he writes about the very thing I think so many of us struggle with but nobody talks about. I tend to be more of a pessimist than an optimist. I tend to be more skeptical then open minded. I tend to fear the worst than expect the best. At times that makes me feel like the worst Christian in the world. That’s why I think I enjoyed this book so much…why it was so relatable for me…so easy for me to read. Hearing his story and struggle makes me feel not so alone. Add in fact throughout the book he doesn’t just talk about himself, but also connects his struggle with a story in the bible about Moses, David, Elijah, John, Peter, etc….and I start to feel like I’m not in such bad company.
However no matter how much he addresses his doubts, the author also weaves in the fact that although we have doubts it does not mean we have no faith. In fact one of my favorite chapters in this book was “Faith with a King Fu Grip” during which he talks about putting action behind your faith even in the midst of doubt. He compares it to when Thomas doubts Jesus resurrection and so Jesus appears to him and say “Touch and Feel” and when in the Old Testament Moses doubts the people will listen to him and God instructions him to throw his staff on the ground and it becomes a snake…The point being, faith and doubt aren’t two extremes on either end of the spectrum, but rather two sides of the same coin. In fact it’s often times our doubts that lead us into deeper faith…which I can attest to considering it’s my constant need to ask “why?” that has brought me thus far in my relationship to God.
Ultimately I enjoyed the book…but I’m not sure that it’s for everyone (something the author also acknowledges right from the beginning). But if you’re like me and sometimes your faith isn’t has strong as you wish it were….maybe you too can find some comfort in the midst of these pages.
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