At the conclusion of most lessons presented on a Sunday morning or evening worship, there is the common practice of the invitation. This invitation encourages those who have questions, special needs or concerns to publicly share them, many times in light of the message that was just presented. The response is not to any person or the church herself, but instead to God and His Word.
Reason is most worthwhile, especially when considering important truths. God created mankind with a capacity to reason – a capacity solely in man in this world for it comes from the very breath of God Himself. This ability to reason has presented man with the ability to choose and free will in life, with the knowledge and evidences necessary to make those choices. However, when the pursuit of what is “reasonable” ignores this Divine quality, it can become a trap of man’s own making.
The pursuit of knowledge has been an endeavor of mankind with varied levels of intensity throughout all of history. The idea of “progress” through discovery has led to many inventions that have benefited mankind with comforts, increased life expectancy and health, and an expansion of our understanding of the world and universe. However, it is important to consider that all that man discovers is already known to the Creator of all, God.
Over the last few hundred years, a term has become common within “religious studies” describing faith: The Leap of Faith. This idea describes faith in God as being a passive act, without proof or knowledge, required by man in order to receive the blessings of God. This leap is simply that – a jump into the spiritually “unknown”, trusting that God will take care of the rest. While the concept of grace involves receiving an unearned gift, and a trust in God through obedience to grant that gift, the idea of a leap of faith is Biblically incorrect.
A common idiom used in American culture (and a few others) is: “The Devil is in the details.” Interestingly, this idiom has changed greatly from its original meaning, being a derivative of the idiom “God is in the details” which was a positive description of the great intricacy of creation. Its meaning today, however, has become a negative, implying that if one ignores the details, difficulty or problems are likely to occur.