Somewhere today in Ontario someone will fling themselves from a cliff into the waters below.They may be scared silly, but they will brag about their leap later. The paragraphs below came my way through a daily online "thought for the day" called Soundbites. It made sense to me, and while Kierkegaard lived in the 19th century it speaks strongly to the challenge of the 21st century.
The idea of a leap of faith (a term often associated with Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who was not just a brilliant mind but also a Scandinavian) has frequently been misunderstood. It does not mean choosing to believe an impossible thing for no good reason. Sometimes people talk about it as if it is the "leap" in which you ignore evidence, give up on reason, and embrace fantasy. But leap was Kierkegaard's term for a genuinely free action. Any freely chosen commitment is a leap, such as the choice to marry or to bear children. The move from innocence to sin is also a leap.
The leap of faith is a "leap" because it involves making a total commitment. It can be made for good reasons -- reasons we have carefully considered. But it is nevertheless a leap, because we have to commit in spite of our fears and doubts, for there is no other way to soar, no other way to fly.
Certain fundamental decisions in life require 100 percent commitment -- passionate engagement. Kierkegaard spoke of faith as a "passion." Certain decisions require intense commitment -- for example, to live by certain values, to get married, to raise a child (there are no guarantees that the child won't break your heart), to have a friend, to follow God. And some decisions, generally the most important ones, require total commitment but do not give any guarantees. -- John Ortberg in Faith & Doubt
Have you taken a leap (or leaps) of faith that have been life-changing and faith changing?
1 comment:
I think having children is a huge leap of faith. I don't think we realize at the time, even after careful consideration just how much of a committment it is. I have 2 grown children and 5 grandchildren. It is interesting watching my children learn the way I did that you can't always predict how you children will behave or grow up. We have preconceived notions about what kind of parents we will be and how our children will grow up and sometimes even what they will be when they grow up, forgetting that they have a will of their own. It is too late when things don't go the way you planned to go back and change your mind about being a parent. Just like the kids leaping off the cliff, you are stuck with the results, whether you are happy with them or not. I like this analogy.
Post a Comment