Thoughts on Faith

"When Love beckons to you, follow Him,
Though His ways are hard and steep.
And when His wings enfold you, yield to Him,
Though the sword hidden among His pinions may wound you.
And when He speaks to you believe in Him,
Though His voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as Love crowns you so shall He crucify you.
Even as He is for your growth so is He for your pruning.
Even as He ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall He descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn He gathers you unto Himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then He assigns you to His sacred fire;
That you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast."
-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

If you knew that the pain would make you more beautiful, refine you as gold, would you still run away from it?  If you knew that amazing treasure lay on the other side of the mountain, would you still refuse to climb it?  If you knew that the death of your desires would lead to new passions teeming with life beyond your wildest imagination, would you still demand your rights and destroy the altar?

Our scientific minds have caused us to lose our sense of faith.  We only undertake the journey whose end we can foresee.  But to step out in faith - not knowing anything beyond the first step - takes a courage our culture would disdain and even call foolish.

Here's to the fools of this world, for they are often rewarded with an intimate relationship with the King of kings Himself while the rest of us have only the solace of our limited knowledge and understanding.