Two chairs

It was hard to see a dime's worth of difference between the responses of the priest Zechariah and teenaged Mary to the angel's announcement of the miraculous births. Zechariah: "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." Mary: "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

Oh, I suppose you can tease their words with a fine-toothed comb for clues, but I suspect the solution lies on the heart level, not the linguistic level. The angel is pleased with the maiden's response but rebukes the priest's unbelief.

One of the exquisite sufferings of the Christian life is intellectual suffering. Is this not the "perplexity but not despair" that Paul himself was afflicted with (2 Corinthians 4:8)? Why hasn't Christ returned sooner? Why did the Holy Spirit forbid me to bring the gospel to Asia (Acts 16:6)? Why has God allowed the Corinthian church to splinter into factions almost from the get-go? Why am I sitting in a prison in Rome when I could do so much more on the road?

I and a friend of mine are both perplexed about a prayer of ours not answered. I heard him say, "I don't understand why God has not answered this prayer." I also said, "I don't understand why God has not answered this prayer." But he said it with a spirit still tender toward his Lord, and I said it with a sneer.

René Descartes resolved to begin with doubt as a way to truth. But it doesn't work in the Christian life; there is always one more objection that rears its head. Jesus passed Levi the tax collector at his booth, and said, "Follow me." Levi got up immediately. Follow now; ask questions later.

The methodology of doubt produces a hobbling walk (1 Kings 18:21). I have decided today to be "perplexed" from the chair of faith and not unbelief. Hold me to it.

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