Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
There is a much used phrase that I find to be a misnomer. The phrase? Common sense. Most people would define common sense as the sense that all of should have. I have even heard it referred to as God given common sense. But most of what we think of as common sense is actually learned behavior. It is what is common to us because we have experienced it before with one of the five senses, thus the phrase "common sense." "Common sense" might be common among a certain group but that which is common to one lifestyle would be totally foreign to another.
Need an example? Most of us would say that it is common sense to figure out how to flush a toilet, use the elevator, or work a vending machine. These things are actually learned behavior to those of us who live in the modern world. I remember once having to show a native in Central America how to flush the toilet. He had always lived where the common facilities where an outhouse. When he did have a "flushable" toilet it usually required scooping water from a barrel beside the toilet and pouring it in to make it flush. The thought of a toilet that flushed itself was not common and so his "common sense" couldn't figure it out. Did this mean he was less intelligent? No, of course not. Most of us would be equally lost in his world.
Common sense has much to do with the way we perceive and understand faith. It is hard to get someone to accept something that goes against his logic or "common sense." Yet everything about faith defies logic. It defies logic to think that a man walked on water, healed the sick, and arose from the dead of his own accord. It doesn't make sense to think that the laying on of hands with anointing oil can heal the sick. I can't explain how sins are washed away through a prayer of repentance and baptism. I certainly can't explain how speaking in tongues works? Why? These things go way beyond my idea of what makes sense.
Common sense is made up of the things that we have experienced with our five senses. If I haven't experienced it before then it defies what is common to my senses. This usually results in me not believing in it. This kind of common sense definitely has its merit and can keep us from looking like fools. But when it comes to spiritually things my senses will never be enough. God sees all, knows all, and understands all. What is to God common sense (because he can see it) is quite foreign to me. When he asks me to do something that defies my logic, like simply trust him, I have to remember that he can see what I can't see. He knows what I can't know ahead of time. And there is nothing that he doesn't understand.
When my common sense isn't enough I can trust him. After all, HE IS.
Trusting in Jesus,
Sullivan Jones
There is a much used phrase that I find to be a misnomer. The phrase? Common sense. Most people would define common sense as the sense that all of should have. I have even heard it referred to as God given common sense. But most of what we think of as common sense is actually learned behavior. It is what is common to us because we have experienced it before with one of the five senses, thus the phrase "common sense." "Common sense" might be common among a certain group but that which is common to one lifestyle would be totally foreign to another.
Need an example? Most of us would say that it is common sense to figure out how to flush a toilet, use the elevator, or work a vending machine. These things are actually learned behavior to those of us who live in the modern world. I remember once having to show a native in Central America how to flush the toilet. He had always lived where the common facilities where an outhouse. When he did have a "flushable" toilet it usually required scooping water from a barrel beside the toilet and pouring it in to make it flush. The thought of a toilet that flushed itself was not common and so his "common sense" couldn't figure it out. Did this mean he was less intelligent? No, of course not. Most of us would be equally lost in his world.
Common sense has much to do with the way we perceive and understand faith. It is hard to get someone to accept something that goes against his logic or "common sense." Yet everything about faith defies logic. It defies logic to think that a man walked on water, healed the sick, and arose from the dead of his own accord. It doesn't make sense to think that the laying on of hands with anointing oil can heal the sick. I can't explain how sins are washed away through a prayer of repentance and baptism. I certainly can't explain how speaking in tongues works? Why? These things go way beyond my idea of what makes sense.
Common sense is made up of the things that we have experienced with our five senses. If I haven't experienced it before then it defies what is common to my senses. This usually results in me not believing in it. This kind of common sense definitely has its merit and can keep us from looking like fools. But when it comes to spiritually things my senses will never be enough. God sees all, knows all, and understands all. What is to God common sense (because he can see it) is quite foreign to me. When he asks me to do something that defies my logic, like simply trust him, I have to remember that he can see what I can't see. He knows what I can't know ahead of time. And there is nothing that he doesn't understand.
When my common sense isn't enough I can trust him. After all, HE IS.
Trusting in Jesus,
Sullivan Jones