Believe, in order to understand, because unless you believe, you will not understand. (St. Augustine, sermon 212)

Not everyone comes to believe in Jesus the way that Saul, later, Paul, did when a great light blinded him, and Jesus’ voice spoke to him in introduction. Afterward, Paul had three days of blindness and the visit of Ananias to acquaint him with the Spirit that would come to live in him, and to understand the calling he had received. Paul’s understanding grew from that event and continued to grow until his death about 67AD. First Jesus gave him undeniable truth to believe, followed by understanding that grew throughout his life, an understanding that he shared with the world of both believers and unbelievers.

Some years after his conversion, Paul wrote a letter to his friend Timothy: “I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” (2Timothy 1:12) Even while in prison Paul believed, and trusted the One in whom he believed. Paul’s wisdom in his letters to the Romans and the Corinthians, among others, has enlightened Christians and non Christians alike: The Spirit helps us In our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” ( Romans 8:26) To the Corinthians, Paul wrote: For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1Corinthians 1:25)

In all of Paul’s writing, “belief” comes before understanding. Belief comes through the Holy Spirit, embodied in Jesus, so that we can believe, and, like Paul, grow in understanding of our God. Paul also wrote to the Romans, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:10)God created us to love Him as He loved us. When mankind went astray, God did not despair. He made it possible for us to believe, and in believing, to come to understand God’s will and ways and to receive the Holy Spirit.

From the time of the apostles until the present age, people all over the world have discovered that belief leads to understanding, an understanding that leads us to our Holy God and the salvation that He offers. We even have a guidebook in which St. Paul helps us find our way.

Love in Him,

Prue