Have you seen that viral video? You should. You know those phrases that roll off the tongue and sound like a complete mishmash of words, kind of like the spiritual riddle, “born once, die twice; born twice, die once”? There is a video of two men in public, having a friendly exchange, who present a similar riddle. The video went viral, and I want you to take a quick look:
Did you hear that? He said, “You cannot believe something and know it,” and “You can only believe in what you don’t know.”
The man continues, citing Jesus as the example that caught my attention this time around: “You might believe in Jesus… ’cause you don’t know Jesus.” He finishes with this thought: “Therefore, understand that belief is a form of doubt.”
This catchy phrase that he uses hit me different. So I had to pause and think. “You cannot believe in something and know it.” Hmm! This implies that this faith of ours is inextricably tied to scepticism. Does this mean that if my faith is real, that if I truly know God, then I must not believe but know? I had to pause. As someone who is learning as they grow and growing as I learn, I have to reject this notion that faith is based on doubt.
Okay, I follow the logic in what the man is saying – to me it makes sense in some contexts – that intellectual evidence basically cancels out the need for mere belief. Yes, but in domains such as spirituality, I believe that knowledge and faith are not opposites. Instead, they are a non-negotiable duo, a super combo that is, in fact, the very foundation of The AHC system and The Bold Reverence prayer sessions. They are a combo where faith (belief) is humble enough to surrender and submit to God, while knowledge is audacious, bold, and uncompromising in the certainty of action when in pursuit of the highest good (love your neighbour as yourself).
I have some thoughts I want us to explore in this insert:
1. The Posture of Grace: The Humility of Belief
Even before I chose to get on this path to pursue the love of God, the world (as I used to think, too) has always been persistent in insisting that faith or belief are nothing more than ignorance and the absence of knowledge. I want to accept that as a challenge and redefine it for our purposes. I, while on this journey of growth, choose to define belief as a Bold and Audacious Choice – the Source of Our Humility, Surrender, and Obedience.
Bold statement number 1. Here, at Omosa, our faith is not a ‘doubt’; it is a conscious act of will that sets us free from the need to control the universe. It is our conscious decision to put our faith in the infinite and invisible aspects of God’s plan, beyond our finite comprehension. We believe in things we have not yet touched with our hands or scientifically explained because, for us, that is the path to grace and the miraculous, wonderful, and unexplained. For us, Hebrews 11:1 tells exactly what belief is all about. It says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (KJV).
For us, here, to stand in Reverence is, essentially, to say: “I am finite. I choose to believe in the Infinite.” This decision keeps us grounded in grace (mosa), reminding us that God surpasses our understanding and intellect. This is our bold act of humbling ourselves to receive the strength that God gives us to empower us to walk in faith.
2. The Posture of Certainty: The Power of Knowing
Although faith is the starting point of our experience, knowledge becomes the connected and necessary end. Here, we take a stance that is not afraid to consider that we can have conviction about things beyond the physical realm. In our world, we stand against the idea that the material sphere is the be-all and end-all of knowing.
Bold statement number 2: Our knowledge of God is not academic. We have certainty, from personal experience and due to a real relationship that God exists. In the video, the man presented a linear, concrete form of proof: “How do you know that you are a white man? Explain to me how you know this?” The man replied by sharing lineage information – this is a physical form of knowledge.
But our knowledge of God is not linear. We don’t know God the way we know that 2+2=4. We know God the way a child knows a parent – through intimate, frequent, personal interaction, daily provision, and agape love. This is the close knowledge that is the Hebrew Yada, knowledge by personal, deeper experience.
Jesus pointed to this relational truth in John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” This knowledge is eternal life, moving beyond abstract thought knowledge into a deep, relational experience.
It requires exceptional boldness to state, “I’ve tasted and I’ve seen. I know the Infinite. I KNOW God.” It is that level of faith that puts a fire in your belly, brings tears of joy to your eyes, and loads up courage in your heart.
3. “Until you go and taste them”
The man in the video uses the powerful analogy of water in various colored cans: blue, yellow, white, and black. An external observer, by mere sight (intellect/shallow observation), shall assume the content to be different. To know for real what is in it, you need to taste it – you need to experience the water (the Spirit).
This is where your conviction becomes undeniable. Your experiential knowledge – that peace in crisis, that answered prayer, that undeniable calling – is your spiritual “taste test.” It is the proof that transcends the debate of mere human logic.
In the video, the man says something like: You won’t know what’s inside the cans until you go and taste them. So, let’s use that imagery:
- Our belief is like our container that carries the water (Belief for us, in this analogy, takes the form of the humility that brings the cup to God, asking for it to be filled or refilled or used to fill another’s).
- Our knowledge is our undeniable certainty (Knowledge, for us, comprises the audacity we then gain once we’ve taken that first sip that gives us the unquestionable certainty that indeed, God is alive, exists and is all-knowing. For us, our knowledge is based on the fact that we can’t know everything, but we now know the one who does!)
Bringing it all together…
When belief and knowledge intersect, we discover, rather than contradiction, a beautiful combination: The Bold Reverence – the Audacious Humility. The Born Once, Die Twice; Born Twice, Die Once…
It is here where we begin to answer the question, “So, which is it: do you believe or do you know?” It is here where humility meets conviction; where meekness meets certainty; where surrender meets confidence. Here, the combined encounters remind us that no decision is required in selecting one or the other. They are a necessary, awe-inspiring pair in our journey to living a full life.
In closing
We, who seek wisdom like Solomon, know that to remain humble and in awe of God’s vastness is Reverence. We know that to remain steadfast and firm in the unshakeable faithfulness of God is Boldness.
So, the next time you’re given the question, you can answer with truth and strength, no apology, no arrogance. Say it loud and proud:
“I have come to know that the God I believe in is real. I believe in God in such an intimate way that it’s an undeniable truth.”