I just don't like that guy

I can think of a few friends of mine who fall into a particular category.  They are those I remember being around before I actually knew them, and from what I had known (which was very little) I had determined that I didn't really like them a whole lot.  For different reasons (most of them unfounded) I had this bizarre resentment  or frustration with them. Then the crazy thing happens.  Maybe its at a party for a common friend.  Maybe its a team we both end up on.  Whatever the means, the crazy moment occurs when I actually have/get to interact with that person.  Then I come to discover new things through conversation and my previous doubts about this person begin to melt away.  Eventually over time these individuals become great friends who I can't believe I ever doubted or wondered about.

Really, every human relationship is like this.  Every relationship we have is weaker or stronger depending on which doubts we have faced and either disproved or proved.  These doubts we have about people are essential elements to human relationships.  They are inevitabilities.  The big difference is in what we have done with those doubts.  Have we come to know that person through connection and communication, and having done that, have we proved our doubts accurate?  Or have they been proven as mere assumptions that have stifled our ability to have a great friendship?

Faith operates much the same way.  I have different doubts about faith, and I only grow closer to the heart of God when I confront those doubts and determine whether they are accurate or if they have only been assumptions that keep me from connecting more intimately with the heart of God.