🧩 Simply Said: Faith vs. Certainty
Faith isn't about being completely certain.
Do you ever feel like having faith means being 100% sure about everything? Many people think faith and doubt are opposites, but that's not what faith really means!
What Faith Really Is
Faith isn't about being completely certain. It's more like trust—it's about having a relationship with God that can handle questions and even doubts. The Bible is full of people who had great faith while also having big questions: Abraham, Moses, David, and even Jesus, who cried out, "Why have you forsaken me?" on the cross.
Why This Matters
When we think faith means being completely certain:
We might feel like failures when we have questions
We might become afraid to explore complex topics
We might judge others who express doubts
We might miss out on deeper growth that comes through wrestling with difficult questions
A Better Way
Instead of certainty, we can understand faith as:
A relationship of trust that grows over time
An ongoing conversation with God that includes our questions
A journey where we keep showing up, even when we're not sure
A community where we can be honest about our struggles
This Week's Easter Message
During Holy Week, we remember that Jesus' followers experienced tremendous doubt and confusion. They didn't understand what was happening when Jesus was arrested and crucified. But Easter reminds us that God works even through our darkest, most uncertain moments. The disciples' faith wasn't about being certain but about continuing to follow Jesus even when everything seemed lost.
God doesn't ask us to have perfect certainty. God invites us to bring our whole selves - questions, doubts, and all - into a relationship of love and trust.
This is part of our "Simply Said" series where we make complex theological ideas accessible to everyone. This week's theme explores faith as trust rather than certainty, connecting to our broader Easter reflection on how God transforms even our darkest moments.