Simplicity

Yesterday I wrote about asking, seeking, knocking, and continuing to do so until we are gifted from on high.  This morning, I read this quote from Flannery O'Connor, a novelist who said that all her stories were about "the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it."

It is much harder to believe than not to believe.  If you feel you can't believe, you must at least do this:  keep an open mind.  Keep it open towards faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.

What a wonderful, simple, approach to faith!  I love it!  For years, when I heard people say, "We must have faith," I would think to myself, "Why don't you tell us how to 'have' faith---where to 'get' it."

I think Flannery O'Connor's formula is within almost anyone's reach---keep an open mind, ask for it, and leave the rest to God.  This throws the ball into God's court, which is where it should be, and takes the struggle out of our hands.  It is not for us to manufacture faith; it is only for us to receive it from the hands of a loving and gracious Father, who gives willingly and generously to all who ask.

I'm thinking I must read more of O'Connor's approach towards faith.