Cornel West Week: faith

"There is a difference between 'rational certainty' and 'blessed assurance'; blessed assurance is stepping out on nothing and landing on something."

This week I will be highlighting a few quotes from Dr. Cornel West; one of today's most provocative thinkers. He is a champion for racial justice as well as a strong advocate for the poor and marginalized.

The quote above is a favorite of mine as it truly strikes at the core of faith. It is a reminder that one of the absolute ingredients of faith is risk. Faith is a trust, and to trust anything or anyone there must be a risk you are willing to take. You have to step out on something. If you have not taken some sort of risk, it is not trust. It is not faith. You have to step out on nothing to land on something, and once you land on something you get the assurance and affirmation of that trust. But it does not happen in the opposite order.

Dr West also said,"There is always an element of doubt in your faith because it is not always all about you. You are acknowledging something greater than you."

Jesus said the greatest commandment before us is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Wonder and awe are love languages of the soul. To have faith is to acknowledge that God is bigger and beyond you. It is to acknowledge that he does not fit into the constraints of your ability to comprehend with your left brain logic. It is to step out with our right brain imagination and wonder.