Believing or Knowing?

There is a big difference between believing something to be true and knowing it is true. On our spiritual quest, it is important for us to make this distinction and see where we stand with our spiritual ideals. Do we embrace them because they make sense, or do we embrace them as the result of direct revelation or through some experience? It's a question worth exploring.

When Jesus spoke of being born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5), we take this to mean there is an intellectual and intuitive (spiritual) aspect of our quest. The intellectual aspect is that which appeals to our logic. When I first discovered Unity, one of the things that stood out to me was that it appealed to my sense of logic. Spiritual principles were explained in ways that made sense. Prior to this, I remember being told that there are things you must accept in faith. God will make it clear in His own good time.

The second thing that stood out was the experiential aspect. People were encouraged, through prayer and meditation, to develop a first-hand experience with God. For many, this is challenging, possibly even confusing. It is important to know that the experiential aspect also includes the easy and natural acceptance of spiritual truths that we have never seen articulated. When Jesus said those who have learned from the Father come to me, this is what he was referring to. We first know something deep in our heart. When someone puts it in words, we respond affirmatively. We knew it before we heard it.

I have pointed out that we highlight those passages from our inspirational books because they say what we have already felt. We are prompted into a new way of thinking by a very quiet knowing that gradually rises to the surface of our consciousness. It’s that still small voice of scripture. The validity of this quiet voice is that it keeps us on a steady course in a definite direction. We may forget, veer momentarily, or live for seasons as if our inner inclinations have no practical value. But we always return to the promptings of our heart.

Beliefs change, but our inner, experiential knowing is a steady beacon that we will never lose.