What can swimming chickens teach us about blind faith? More than I ever imagined. Robin, a friend from high school days, has chickens in the neighboring town, and posted this pic of Pearl the swimming chicken. Honestly, I’d never heard of that before, and asked why she swam. Robin’s response? “Blind faith.”
She proceeded to educate me on the social and aquatic abilities of poultry! “Chickens are quite skittish…her sisters don’t like the pool.” So, why does Pearl? “This Pearl was different from day one. She was small with no neck like the others. We didn’t think she would survive among 9. Didn’t think she’d even lay an egg. She doesn’t handle the heat like the others” (editorial comment—Murrieta can get quite hot!).
Again, I asked the source of Pearl’s blind faith, enough to trust humans and swim in water, to seek out human attention to a degree far beyond the other chickens. “We prayed over her always and watched her carefully.” Or, Robin realized the needs Pearl had and took care of her. The result? “She loves everyone and everyone loves her. She is a special gift.” A special gift who swims and yes, lays eggs. She’s seen what Robin has done for her in the past, and trusts her blindly. Even in a pool.
Some critics of Christianity accuse us of having “blind faith,” or a “leap in the dark,” a hopeful belief without a foundation of fact. Let me suggest that part of what they say is true--we do have blind faith, but one like Pearl. When looking ahead to what we cannot see and are blind to, we still have faith and trust in God. Why? Pearl has blind faith because of experience, because of reality. She’s seen how Robin takes special care of her, and therefore trusts her.
Shouldn’t our blind faith be similar? We “blindly” trust God for the future because we’ve learned to trust him in the past. We don’t jump to conclusions, we don’t practice wishful thinking. Faith has a rational, experiential component that transcends just hoping.
Here are three facts we can focus on to build trust in God for the now unseen future.
1. Who God is. Look at the evidence in nature for his power and intelligence. Examine history to see the accurate record of his interaction with humanity. Discover the phenomenal accuracy of biblical prophecy.
2. What he’s done. Look back at how he’s moved in your life, the changes he’s made in you for the better, the supportive connections with others that center on him.
3. His character. Trust in his love that he’s shown, culminating in sending his Son to earth. That love that you’ve seen in your life.
Use all of these examples of looking back to build a solid trust in God for the future. Know that he loves you and will work for good in your life. Know he has the power to do that. And know that based on what we have seen of God in the past, that we can have a rational foundation to trust in him for whatever happens down the road. Blind faith looking ahead, 20/20 looking back.
Kick Starting the Application
How much trust do you have in God for items that you cannot see? Items that you have no idea how they will turn out? Why? Go over the three facts above that we can build a solid foundation on. Which are you strongest in? Weakest? How can you strengthen them?