Now you may be thinking, “I’ve heard of faith, faithfulness, faithlessness, godly faith, various religious faiths, a wide range of denominational faiths – but I have never heard of Jenga faith.” Well, you probably haven’t heard of it because I made it up. Actually, it was my son who made the following observation.
So, many times people take an interesting approach to faith. If they believe in God, they may believe as their parents did, without ever questioning and exploring answers for themselves. Others may have constructed a faith that hinges on one single belief. For example, someone may believe that if you are a Jesus follower then your life will always be easy. But what happens when that belief isn’t born out in reality and they run into hard times, disabilities, or even death of a loved one? They become like the Jenga block that is pulled out and the entire puzzle collapses. Their faith is shattered.
This possibly raises some questions, such as: “Do I believe in something because it feels good, even though I have no idea if it’s true?” “When confronted with views that may vary from mine, am I able to consider them with an open mind or do I just grip my version of reality tighter?” “Do I have a faith that is based upon credible evidence that can withstand scrutiny?” or “Do I just not want to think about it?”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have Jenga faith. I want to know that my faith in God is based upon a solid foundation knowing that, while I certainly don’t have all of the answers, I can grow in my faith as a result of being open to and listening to others. We need each other. As Proverbs 27:17 states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”