The very high bar set by Abraham in the bible exemplifies what God expects from us when we are asked to show proof of faith. Can you imagine what it must have felt like to have waited so long for a child, and then, told to sacrifice that child? I even wonder How Abraham proceeded without any resistance or a steady bombardment of questions for God. Amazing!
One can only guess what was going through his mind the moment he heard God’s instruction. A request so difficult to comprehend or grant, that when subjected to human reasoning or logic, makes no sense whatsoever. Even as I write this, I just cannot fathom how Abraham did what he did. God was right to dub him “The Father of faith” after seeing faith that didn’t have its foundation in the permutations or complexity of human logic. A strong belief and faith that could only be hinged on the supernatural thereby defying any kind of thought.
Hebrews 11:1 is a letter to the Hebrews that describes faith as “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” A couple of verses later, the author argues that it is faith that enables us to understand “what is visible came into being through the invisible.”
While “faith” is inevitably at the nexus of our collective belief in God, many often ask if that belief for things yet to be seen can be taken too far in certain instances. Is there a thin line that exists between a show of faith and negligence or carelessness as it were? Those who say faith is absolute because it is what inspires man to stretch logic into diverse avenues once perceived to be pointless adventures to a cul-de-sac. Faith had to be what pushed people to think men could walk on the moon. I am convinced about this.
Nonetheless, on the other side of the debate, you have people who believe a necessary part of exercising faith is proper due diligence. An example is how we all tend to go to the hospital whenever we feel uneasy. I remember how my granny would say “ Doctor Jesus has healed you my son.” I believe that even though she was a Christian stalwart, she understood the place of medicine and its importance. The problem many seem to have, lies in understanding how God can use logic and reason to show His hand. It almost feels like if logic can be involved then we cannot attribute the progress to God.
Days ago, a viral story from the wife of a famous Nigerian pastor, had a lot of medical practitioners on the counterattack. In her story, she spoke of how very troubled she was after seeing blood stains on her dress during her first pregnancy. As expected, she immediately thought she had a miscarriage and reported the issue to her husband. According to her, he basically told her not to bother about the blood and she went ahead to make his meal. She eventually had her child without complications much later. All praise to God.
Though a litany of jokes and social media posts of concern have trailed the story which tried to justify the merits of faith, it has unearthed many questions seeking answers.
How do we let believers know that relying on faith and using tools God has provided via science can run concurrently? In the aforesaid story, would it have diminished their faith, if they went for a simple check at the hospital after witnessing such an anomaly?
Should faith replace scientific gains in medicine ? Do you think medicine or science, logic or reason should operate separately? What are your thoughts?
Ogo Adelakun loves writing on diverse subjects.
