Faith Becomes Logic in Hindsight
By Michael Kelley
Faith, by its very nature, lacks tangible proof. That’s not to say that evidence does not exist for faith, because it certainly does. For centuries scholars have presented research about all kinds of topics like the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and the reliability of the Bible, all coming together to show that Christianity is, at the very least a reasonable system of belief. And yet at some point, even bolstered by evidence, faith has to move beyond intellect into trust.
To trust is active in nature. It means placing the weight of your belief in Jesus and in Him alone. Doing that requires a leap, or as the writer of Hebrews tells us, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see,” (Heb. 11:1).
We trust what we don’t see. We believe despite what our senses tell us. We leap even though our circumstances tell us something different. The thing, though, faith does indeed become logic in hindsight. Take, for example, the account from the Book of Luke about the morning of Jesus’ resurrection:
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground.
“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” And they remembered his words (Luke 24:1-9).
Can you imagine the roller coaster of emotions that went through Jesus’ friends that day? They showed up in grief and mourning. Then they were confused because the body was gone. Then they were terrified. And then they were… what?
Still confused? Still afraid? But maybe a glimmer of hope was there, too? The thread of an idea that perhaps Jesus had indeed risen from the dead?
But along with those emotions, also take note of the message the angels delivered. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” they said. “He is not here, but he has risen!” they said. These are statements of logic.
“Of course He’s not here. And the reason He’s not here is because He’s not dead. Don’t you remember what He told you?”
And they began to remember. So it is with us. We come up against all kinds of difficult circumstances in life. We wonder if God is going to provide for us. We wonder if He has a plan. We wonder if He’s even real. But then, after the fact, and with the luxury of a little time and reflection, we see the answer to all of those questions is, “Of course.”
Of course He provided. Of course He loves us. Of course He was active in our circumstances. Of course He was. What was a matter of faith beforehand becomes a matter of logic in hindsight.
Now why does that matter for us today? Well, you likely are experiencing both scenarios simultaneously right now. There are some things in your life, right now, that you must process by faith. You don’t understand why something is happening or when it’s going to be over or even what God might be doing. But you move forward, despite your circumstances and despite your feelings, in faith.
But at the same time, surely you can look back over the last few months of years and remember other times when you had the same questions. The same fears. The same doubts. And yet in hindsight, you are able to see, “Of course God was at work.”
Let the “of course” of hindsight fuel the faith of the present today.
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.
