Faith: Grounded in Reality

Belief in Christ is all about faith. Now, we don't have to assume that it is not based on some knowledge as, in fact, faith is itself something of a body of knowledge. Faith is not, after all, blind but is indeed quite adept at seeing and interpreting reality. Is not knowledge itself simply an interpretation of experience, and interpretation of reality? So, although it is quite different from the post-enlightenment presupposition of "absolute truth" and "pure objectivity", faith does require some grounding, some actual relationship with what's happening within history. So the question is, first of all, is our faith true? In what way is it true(then, perhaps, what is truth?)? Then, more importantly, why do we believe it? If the answers to those questions are not grounded, if they are not real and physical, then they are empty.

Now don't misunderstand me here. Being grounded in reality does not mean that it has to be proven or historically "accurate" by modern standards. It simply means tat it has to change something, it has to effect and affect something in the world. It has to be real. Indeed, in this regard, something that's historically proven can still be of little consequence in reality. For example, the weight the fact that it is indeed historically provable that I, Wes Ellis, did drink a Big Gulp on a Wednesday in the year 2001, has very little grounding in my present reality. That one incident is indeed incidental to the present and the future. For me to place "faith" in that historical reality would do nothing and would therefore have no grounding in reality.

Faith is not about what happened as much as it is about what happens. Faith is bigger than incidents. It's about the whole of reality and it's about seeing a reality being effected into the world. It's not about the incident, it's about how the incident changes everything. Therefore, faith must not be in something incidental, it has to be grounded in and transforming reality. If our faith is in the resurrection then it cannot be just that it happened. Rather, the resurrection must be something that changes reality and we must be able to live with our physical bodies, just as Christ did, into that reality.

Our faith is not blind. Indeed our faith sees the whole world being changed. We follow Jesus not because of some incident, we follow Jesus because of how that incident changes us. "Taste and see that the LORD is good." We follow Jesus because it is the best possible way to live and we cannot deny it--we would not even if we could. Through faith, a hidden mystery is revealed and that revelation starts in us... today.