This puts fire in my belly, and encourages me to pick up my walking stick. The passion to live what I believe feels stifled, the will to act is strong, the fear of the unknown, and the desire to protect my family keeps me in check. But that is where I feel pulled. Is my faith really strong enough to just follow? Just act? I am Peter, sinking in the sea. I have stepped out, and lived a miracle, and now I look down in doubt and call out. I can hear the response.
Christ says: Do according to what I say � then you shall know. Consequently, decisive action first of all. By acting, your life will come into collision with existence, and then you will know the reality of grace. Nowadays we have turned the whole thing around. Christianity has become a world view. Thus, before I get involved I must first justify it. Good night to Christianity! Now doubt has surely conquered. And this doubt can never be halted by reasons, which only nourish doubt. No, doubt can only be halted by imitation. The objections to Christianity may be dismissed with one single comment: Do these objections come from someone who has carried out the commands of Christ? If not, all his objections are nonsense. Christ continually declares that we must do what he says � and then we will know that it is truth.
A conviction is not firmly fixed when everyone presses upon it equally and holds it firm. No, its true stability is revealed when everything is in question.
Provocations are taken from Provocations: The Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard
Daniel,
Are you in danger of becoming a fool for Christ? How often we are called to act before we understand. To act where your heart leads you will take you past the mind. Only when we encounter life through practice, or experience, do we encounter reality in a way that transcends our ability to describe it. I have learned the value of obedience over sacrifice. The kind of obedience required to follow His leading beyond the limits of my mind. The blessing in the obedience is the encounter with life. Jump out of the boat! There is a rush of life in the face of death. I’m learning what I never believed before, even if I could describe it perfectly. To be free from the thoughts that bind us is awesome. I can’t explain it, but I have understanding. Touch God’s hand, be a fool. After all, we really are lavished in His grace, blessed with the ability to sink.