Faith=Uncommon Sense

A few years ago, I read the book An Outrageous Commitment, by renowned relationship counselor Dr. Ronn Elmore.  In his view, marriages that last—those that stick it out through thick and thin—adhere to the Vow of Uncommon Sense: “Uncommon sense is to act as if what may at first appear to be irreversible circumstances are not at all….Uncommon sense is lavish and unreserved in its expression.  It is not blind to present reality, but does not insist that present realities alone can predict the future.”  Uncommon sense chooses forgiveness over bitterness, compromise over selfishness, and hopefulness over hopelessness.  In short, uncommon sense treads against the grain of conventional thought.  And in my view, what Elmore provides is a workable definition of “faith.”  Faith is uncommon sense, inasmuch as it considers what can be, despite what was or what is.  When we’re guided by faith, by uncommon sense, by unconventional thought, we’re able to find purpose in pain, to maintain our composure in the midst of chaos, and to hope in seemingly hopeless situations.  In a famous passage of Scripture, the writer of Hebrews puts it like this: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1).  Put another way, faith is proof when we have nothing else to show as proof.  Faith is assurance in the midst of uncertainty.  Faith is confirmation when there is no manifestation.  In other words, faith is uncommon sense.