Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt is Not the Enemy of Faith by Barnabas Piper is one of those books that just feels like a balm for a weary soul.
“Alone we are blind. The Spirit gives sight. Alone we are foolish. The Spirit gives wisdom. Alone we are dead. The Spirit gives life.” p. 122
I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below…
- We are his. We cost him everything. And his clear eyes will never lose track—or ownership—of what he purchased. His confidence never wanes. Feel how you may, struggle how you may, once bought, once loved with his blood, you cannot slip from his hands. p. 12
- God is infinite, beyond our understanding, and he chose to reveal himself to us in a way that sparks questions rather than settles all of them. p. 27
- Questions indicate belief only if you actually want an answer. Someone who asks without wanting to learn is not truly asking, but is challenging. Challenging is not believing, but undermining. p. 28
- Belief is not a black-and-white endeavor built on simple truths. It is the exploration of a great mystery girded by great truths. p. 29
- To ask well is to examine as far as we can. p. 31
- We cannot drive God’s love away with our badness. In fact, the greatest sign of his steadfast love is the very means of paying for our badness and doing away with it—Jesus Christ. I have never known God’s steadfast love more than when I have been at my most ashamed, most broken, most certain he was done with me. But there I saw it, the steadfast love of forgiveness and grace. His steadfast love endures, period. We are given mystery and promise in the same revelation. They are both true. So long as we are in relationship with God we live in both. p. 71
- “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” is the best any of us can do really, but thank God it is enough.[30] —Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat (HarperCollins, 1985), p 35.
- All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.[43] —Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Routledge, 1897), p 502.
- Relationship with God is the best apologetic in the world. We will never argue anyone into salvation. A healthy, strong relationship with God is a beacon; it’s inviting. p. 114
- Alone we are blind. The Spirit gives sight. Alone we are foolish. The Spirit gives wisdom. Alone we are dead. The Spirit gives life. p. 122