So in case you don’t know this already, I’m a nerd. Maybe you can’t tell because I don’t wear pocket protectors, but without a doubt I am a full-on, self-described geek. Maybe, you think nerds and geeks are different, but basically I think a nerd is someone who geeks out over stuff, basically the same thing. Well now that I’ve told you, how about Exhibit A to really drive home the point. This past week I spoke at our Nav Night (weekly large group meeting) and I was assigned/ chose to speak on faith. This semester we are going through the armor of God, so more specifically I was talking about the Shield of Faith (Eph 6:16). Now, when most people talking about faith would rely heavily on anecdotal stories about using prayer or the Bible to shield yourself from attack. This can be a great approach and I did use some fun stories like the story that most informs my mental image of a shield. This is a story from when my dad was younger and they had an angry rooster that liked to attack, so the bold young boy would equip himself with a garbage can lid (shield) and baseball bat (sword?) to venture into the lair of his fearsome opponent. However, my main illustration did not come from one of these stories, but was in the form of a graph. Yes, that’s right: points, lines, axises (axes), a sweet title, even an equation. Really, what more could you want from a graph? I have included it below for your viewing pleasure, ... or to print and burn depending on your feelings about math.
In my talk, I took several minutes to explain the graph that included many confusing hand motions, some excited pointing, and pathetic attempts at math related humor that drew some very strong pity laughter (at least that’s what I assuming it was). Regardless, due to these factors I probably will not be able to explain it as well through writing, but I will try to communicate the main point. Faith, as seen below is the result of repetitive confirmation over time that leads to confident predictions about the future. This allows us to face boldly the situations that arise that do not seem to align with our expectations, being fully convinced that what we have seen in the past is an accurate representation of what will continue to happen in the future. In addition to this explanation I included some short thoughts below the graph that correspond with the it and will hopefully help those of you non-math-minded people to see what the graph will not be able to communicate.
Interpretations or graph for the "word" people:
Faith is only blinds as it concerns the future, it sees clearly and is informed by the evidence, experience, and extrapolation of the past.
Experience -> Evidence -> Expectation
Faith does not operate in spite of evidence, but in light of evidence.
Faith works because our God never-changes.
Faith is always rooted in truth: in who God is, who we are in Him, His work in our life. This is why faith is a shield, because the offensive weapons of the enemy are always trying to attack the truth and its relevance in our lives, but faith allows us to resist those attacks
At this point I hope you are encouraged, not just wondering why you are still even reading this blog, which at this point probably just feels like a sermon. I hope that seeing faith as something that is justifiable and reasonable strengthens your faith and allows it to grow as a better shield. Also, I hope this serves as a reminder that the object of faith (Jesus) is what makes our faith work. As the famous theologian A.W. Tozer explains, “For it is not enough that we believe; we must believe the right thing about the right One.
This topic of faith is very pertinent this time of year as students at UNM are already heading into midterms and by the end of Wednesday will be halfway done with the semester! I know that during my years as an undergraduate these were times when the tiredness, stress, and just plain exhaustion would pile up into a mountain of reasons to not seek God first and rely on Him for strength. Would you join me in praying Colossians 1:9-14 over these students? I really love Paul’s prayer in the introduction to this letter and it has become a go-to prayer I pray for myself, people I’m leading or am being led by, friends, and pretty much anyone I want to pray for. I would encourage you to look it up and pray it, substituting in names or personal pronouns. It is a fantastic prayer for wisdom, strength, endurance, and patience, as well as having a clear reminder of the Gospel tucked in at the end.
Thank you again to those of you that already lift me up in prayer, it’s working! God continues to bless our Nav Nights, small group Bible studies, and building relationships with students, helping them to grow in their faith and relationship with Him. I promise the next update will have more pictures (that are not graphs) and hopefully less words. Thanks for reading!
P.S. Always attempt adding additional alliteration **see title
P.P.S. If you want to receive an email whenever I add a new blog post, send an email explaining this predicament to: macinniscameron@gmail.com , and I will remedy the situation.
