Can Christians Have Their Doubts?

Can Christians have their doubts?

St. Joseph...The Doubter

Of course we can.  Want to know where I learned that?

Joseph.  As in Joseph and Mary.

Why wouldn't he?  The woman to whom he was engaged told him that she was pregnant.  He knew the baby wasn't his.  She said she hadn't been with anyone else.

What would you say to that?

I know what I would say.  I'd say, "I doubt that very much."  That's if I was feeling particularly charitable.  Joseph may have said something a little more salty, to say the least.

We know Joseph doubted, because he had decided to be a "good guy," and just break off the engagement quietly.  Charitable, yes.  Realistic, yes.  Saintly faith?  No.  He didn't buy it.

I find that hopeful.  The truth is, I have my doubts, too.  Lots of them.

Faith in Jesus doesn't mean that we check our brains at the door.  It doesn't mean that we hide our heads in the sand, or ignore the things that don't add up.

But what it does mean is something bigger, and better.  It means that like Joseph, in spite of our doubts, and in the face of overwhelming odds, we trust the glimmer of light and truth that is God in our midst.

Joseph is a saint because he dared to believe in the face of his doubt.  That is the kind of heart that God is looking for, and the heart that God uses to change the world.

What about us?  Do we doubt?  Of course we do.

That's what makes real faith possible.

Grace & Peace for the Journey --
Adam