Faced with the messy complexities of life,
its non-linear correspondence
with the claims and expectations of the saints—
old tensions, compounded by emergent situations,
strain the orthodoxies of faith.
Then there are those situations that appear unresponsive
to the entreaties, expectations, or prescriptions of the faithful.
Concurrently, the credibility of the religious establishment wanes,
in the face of recurrent scandal, or just in time,
undermining the certainty of some—leaders and laity alike.
They just don’t know anymore what is fixed and unyielding.
If it turns out that any pillar of orthodoxy was movable after all,
how can we confidently lean on the remaining pillars?
So, treading carefully with the scriptures,
as if something unexpected could upset their fragile coalitions
of people with amorphous convictions,
they emphasize only the ‘safe generics’—
uncontroversial do-good injunctions,
the sort motivational speakers ply.
For some, even these are neither wise nor persuasive,
certainly not demonstrating the power of the Spirit.
Diverging Responses
Others, doubling down,
advocate a literal ‘verse-by-verse’ understanding of absolutes,
subordinating the messiness of life and all non-conforming facts
to rigid orthodoxy.
They claim, not that they know, but that the Word says so—
preaching to the choir, in contexts where little is contested,
where claimants feel little need
to prove from their lives the efficacy of their claims.
Yes, it may be true that experience is not a good metric for verity,
but pray, tell me—what is your experience of the Holy Spirit?
Yet others, though vested in those same absolutes,
even with some experience of the Spirit’s power,
accept and acknowledge the gaps,
the difficulties that earthly life presents.
Seemingly at peace with life’s repudiation
of some of the claims they have grown up on,
they draw from experience—
that our understanding or application (or both) of absolutes may be flawed.
An acknowledgment that, when rooted in humble surrender,
can open up a whole new universe to the seeker—
eliciting sympathy for those lagging on the continuum of faith,
beset by recurring doubt.
These may say:
“The world is messy,”
“but God is,”
“and God is good,”
“and God is mystery—humbling seekers, deserving worship.”
So they find peace that transcends knowledge and understanding.
The Few Who Are Sent
Then there are a few others—a smaller number—
who, having experienced the grace
of a supernatural encounter of some sort,
occurring in a time and place of the Sovereign’s choosing—
maybe on the road to Damascus, usually off the grid—
are sent to bring a much-needed revelation of mystery
to the body writ large.
These are understandably resolute: “I know a man,” they may say.
So they hold that the absolutes are, well, absolute—
that little is diminished in the Lord’s deeds,
age to age He remains—eternal and unchanging.
For those who have seen Him, theology is secondary.
If it works in practice, why sweat the theory?
Detached arguments about doctrine may excite some,
but they are not deal-breakers here.
These, well-meaning,
are wont to cast their experience as normative,
a cause-and-effect sequence that anyone can enter into,
who follows due process.
They may think outliers are simply unable to replicate their experiences.
Some ignore the non-confirming outcomes,
others attribute failures to a faith deficit
or some mechanical failure—
not praying enough, fasting enough, something enough.
The Reality of a Broken World
Yet the reality of a broken world, like gravity,
weighs on us all at some point and in some way—
manifest in the partiality of human knowledge.
Like treasure in jars of clay,
so who heals miraculously in one instance
may be stumped at the next heart-wrenching need.
Or even in the same instance, not all are healed,
despite fervent appeals on their behalf.
Oh, the depth indeed
of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God—
whose ways are indeed unfathomable.
Alas, doctrine is a help in the face of our weakness,
remaining steadfast when humans falter,
when experience is a fading memory—
providing guardrails in uncertainty,
sustaining faith and the faithful,
across vast expanses of often-hostile desert
to the oasis of that next revival.
For I indeed know, whom I have believed.