"Faith" is a fine Invention
by Emily Dickinson
"Faith" is a fine invention
When Gentlemen can see—
But Microscopes are prudent
In an Emergency.
When Gentlemen can see—
But Microscopes are prudent
In an Emergency.
This is not really a topic I care to talk about, and that is just the reason why I am writing about it. Dickinson mentions in her poem that "Faith" is a fine invention, and I wonder exactly why Dickinson says that faith in a fine invention. Is there possibly a good explanation as to why Dickinson says that faith is a fine invention? Better yet...IS faith a fine invention? Is it even an invention at all.
I like to believe that faith is not an invention, but that is just my opinion, and have always thought of faith not being an invention. That might be because I have always been taught that faith isn't an invention, but then I do not know. I have also found myself second guessing faith as well...
What do you think?
To me, faith is not an invention, because that would mean that it is something that is "man made", or in other words it is something that we have to create in order to work. This would mean, like in Dickinson's poem, that we must have understanding, in order to have it, and for it to work,... but in reality, faith is the exact opposite, which goes against everything that makes sense to us. It is belief in something that we cannot see to be true. It is a choice that we make to trust, when we don't know what kind of outcome will result. I guess another way of saying it is, believing in something that you cannot see. God says that faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews11:1 NKJV). This is what makes the concept of faith so hard, because it goes against everything that we know. The key is not faith itself though, especially when your put in a hard situation where you feel you need it the most,...but it is the object of our faith, or what we put our faith in. The reality is that we cannot put our faith in ourselves or other people, because they all fail us, and we even fail ourselves... for it does not take long for something to go wrong even when we try to make it work. I know this by experience. For me, as a Christian I have learned to ground my faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, because He is the one will never fail me. I go to Him, when I am placed in a hard pressed situation, where it seems like all is lost, and find my stability, my joy, my peace, even when nothing at all makes sense. When Dickinson mentions that microscopes are prudent in an emergency, this also expresses the need for understanding, especially at critical moments of life. However, real faith though,in God, is forsaking everything that we know, or think we know, and giving Him the situation, because we trust He has what is best. I think this is why faith is hard to believe, to define, and live by. But I know by experience that because of God's unconditional love for me, it is the best place to be in!
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