The Graciousness of Uncertainty

In one of my favorite writings of Oswald Chambers he writes of “the graciousness of uncertainty.”  This seems like an oxymoron.  As he notes: “Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing.  We imagine that we have to reach some end [an end, I might add, that WE have defined], but that is not the nature of spiritual life.  The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty….”  That in and of itself seems like another oxymoron, but he explains later – “we are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God.”

In our faith, Chambers notes, we can easily become advocates of a creed, not of God.  That is, “we do not believe God, we only believe our belief about him – which of course leads us down a perilous path.  We can, in the name of God, become like the guy on the street corner selling “genuine” Rolox watches for $29 in that we start selling a “knock off God,” one we have created in our own image.

I have always liked the way Anne Lamott treats this – “you can tell you’ve created God in your own image when God hates all the same people you do.”