Doubt & Action
June 8th, 2009
“The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.” (Matthew 28:16-17)
These couple lines of the Gospel really hit me at Holy Mass this morning.
Here we have eleven men who spent three years following Jesus, hearing Him preach, and watching Him perform miracles; yet they doubted. They saw him cleanse lepers, forgive sins, and cure the sick; yet, they doubted. Given that these are a couple of the final verses in the Gospel of Matthew, they have even seen him raised from the dead and spent 40 days with Him at this point; yet they doubted.
How true is this attitude of all of us? On any given day, God’s love is overwhelmingly obvious in all of our lives, yet we find reasons to doubt. When he has given us another breath, another sunrise, another sunset, another day, another meal, another friendship, another experience of love, and another opportunity to praise Him, we are still quick to say, “Yeah, but…”
What this passage tells us, though, is that our doubts are completely normal. They are part of the process when growing in natural and spiritual virtue. Many people feel guilty in the spiritual realm when they experience doubt. In the natural order, doubt can lead people to give up on their dreams by making them believe they are a sign they are not really supposed to do what they set out after. However, doubt is neither a reason for guilt or giving in because it is not an expression of disbelief. It is only a temporary suspension of judgment until more evidence becomes available.
Viewing doubt in this light, we can neutralize its immobilizing emotions. If we understand doubt as normal and see it as an opportunity to grow in faith by continuing to act, then we are sure to grow in virtue.
This is where the disciples give us a great example. Yes they doubted, but they still worshipped. We need to follow their lead if we are to attain any of our goals in this world and ultimately attain our goal of eternal life in the world to come.
When doubts leave you feeling paralyzed, take action and your dreams will surely be realized.
Tags: Personal Development, Theology
Posted in
The Life |
2 Comments »
June 8th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Great topic, James! So many of us struggle with this.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Just stopped in to say “hi”. What a great post!