No More Time to Doubt ...

The women were the first to speak the truth of the gospel.  Then two men of the inner circle came bursting into the upper room bringing the same words of the gospel good news.  Jesus is alive.  Don’t care that we all saw Him get crucified and die.  Don’t care that we all know He was laid in the tomb fully dead.  He just walked with us all the way to Emmaus and showed us right out of scripture how all of this was fore-ordained.  We nearly ate dinner with Him before He just disappeared.  And Luke picks up the story right as they are speaking the validation of the women’s first gospel testimony that should have never been needed to be validated.  But just to put a nail in the coffin of doubt forevermore Luke interrupts what goes on there continuing in chapter 24 of his letter to his friend about what we believe and why.  In verse 36 it says … “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”  While they were yet testifying as to what they had seen, heard, and experienced.  They are interrupted by this Jesus Himself appearing right in the middle of them.  No knock on the door.  Not tired from running the whole way there from Emmaus.  God does not need to run.  God moves where He wants.  God goes where He is needed.  No prophet ever did that.  Jesus is not just some mere mighty prophet.  Jesus is God.  And God is very much alive.

The time for doubt to die is here.  The time for faith born in evidence is now right there in the middle of that room looking them straight in the eyes and hearts.  But once again, human weakness, is the response to Jesus, even when He just got finished saying “peace be unto you”.  In effect Shalom.  A greeting of peace.  A greeting meant to assuage fear.  But when we refuse to see, we often refuse to hear, all because we are so set in our ways that even if Jesus appeared right in the very room with us, we cling to our notions of the past.  Luke continues recording their responses in verse 37 saying … “But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.”  It winds up easier for us to believe in ghosts than God.  We prefer the darkness to the light, even when it shines right in front of us.  Consider that every disciple in that upper room (man or woman, part of the 12 or part of the 70), every one of them, knows and has seen firsthand Jesus raising the dead while He was yet with them in His earlier ministry.  They know it can be done, because they have all seen it done.  Some of them will do this in His name in the future.  But regardless, they all know it is possible.  No ghosts back then.  No tricks back then.  But when Jesus shows Himself to be alive, we reject the possibility of resurrection and cling to the notion of evil spirits or ghosts.

Is it any different today?  We accept death as inevitable and permanent, never considering for a moment that our resurrection is assured.  Never considering that God may even bring us back to this world early to accomplish the mission He has in mind for us.  But no one asks that prayer.  And worse NO ONE believes it could ever happen.  So NO ONE tests their own faith in the name of Jesus by asking it.  We just see death, and give up all hope, barely trusting in the resurrection that will one day come.  We just assume death is the will of God.  How could it not be?  If God did not want death, then why is it so inevitable?  But these musings are the thoughts of believers who accept the results of sin, without considering that God never intended for us to understand death at all, let alone to experience it.  We were created with the notion of forever in mind.  Time was to have no end.  Endings would be a foreign concept.  So why do we believers now choose to NEVER ask for God to bring life back in the here and now, in order that we may continue the work He has set for us.  It is possible that work was prematurely ended by death.  And it is possible that God would have that work restarted now, if those fellow servants would only have the faith to ask and believe in those same possibilities.  What is the worst that can happen; He says “no”.  Seems like we are already settling for that answer, without ever asking for something else.

The lesson in this upper room is one for our church today.  Our ideas of the past, what we believe the doctrines dictate, so inform our judgment that even a risen Lord is unable to penetrate them.  We get in our heads what we think things should be, then cement those ideas so that nothing can shake them.  Even a plainly risen Lord Jesus, is translated into the ideas of a spirit or ghost instead.  A spirit or ghost is still consistent with their earlier beliefs, a risen Lord is not.  And are we any different?  Our ideas create our fear, our doubt.  Any evidence, or testimony, that lends itself to the notion we are mistaken, is discarded in favor of ridiculous conclusions that keeps us fully in line with the past.  We choose, like our disciple forefathers, to look backwards even when standing in the presence of God Himself.  And in so doing we nurture our fear and self-reliance, not our faith, and our ability to step forward.  Imagine if even when you do not have the money, you pay your tithes anyway.  Common sense tells you that this is a financial mistake.  There is no way that spending money you do not have, on church of all things, or ministry of all things, could possibly make sense.  But I challenge you to challenge God and spend that money that way, then stand back and watch.  Somehow, someway, everything works out.  It does not make sense, but it does work out.

And this lesson is to be applied to more than just our money.  Imagine if instead of returning some well deserved righteous indignation to someone who has wronged you, who is guilty, who clearly has it coming and they know it – instead – you return some undeserved love and total forgiveness, you show kindness where it is not deserved.  And believe me, kindness is the last thing that will be expected in that situation, from them or you.  But instead of “being human”, you react through the power of His love, letting it flow through you, and only then; lives will be changed, perhaps yours most of all.  To apologize when you have done no wrong, to be humble when you are in the right, to be forgiving when you are the aggrieved party; these are the hallmarks of a true believer in Jesus Christ as your lord.  We should not need evidence before we are able to trust this way.  We should not need Jesus appearing in our living rooms, to truly know that living this way, is living a better way.  And no difference of doctrine or denomination should warrant a limit to our love, our forgiveness, or our kindness.

Luke continues in verse 38 saying … “And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? [verse 39] Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. [verse 40] And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.”  So Jesus must reach out to us even farther.  He offers his own flesh as proof of His identity.  Jesus humbles Himself enough to let His followers poke the holes in hands, or feet, or side.  Imagine how far Jesus will go, to assuage your doubts and fears, to turn you from looking backwards and start you on looking forwards to what really matters.  The only way the incorrect beliefs or doctrines you hold to will ever be corrected, is if you look forward to Jesus, and to where and how He leads you.  Nothing can change while we cement ourselves in a backwards posture.  Looking to Jesus can be the full death of doubt if we let it.

But humans can be stubborn when we choose to.  Luke continues in verse 41 saying … “And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? [verse 42] And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. [verse 43] And he took it, and did eat before them.”  So even when we start seeing the potential in the future, even when that potential introduces so much joy we can hardly stand it, we still find a way to keep doubting, and keep the door to all that - sealed shut.  Where Jesus is concerned, too good to be true, is not yet good enough.  Jesus always brings more good, more joy to us, than our limited brains ever thought possible.  As a final demonstration that He is not some spirit or ghost, Jesus eats something right in front of them.  In the kingdom of the Lord there are no spirits or ghosts save the Holy Ghost or dimension of the God head we do not fully understand.  Think about it, other than that, when Enoch goes to heaven he is translated alive in full bodily form, just as he was born to his parents.  When Moses dies, he is buried in a secret place by God, but when the devil finds his body, Moses is resurrected and taken to heaven in full bodily form.  When Elijah goes it is the same story.  When Lazarus was brought back it was in no spirit form, but in full bodily form, as was every other resurrected person during the ministry of Christ.  When the firstfruits go to heaven, it is the same story once again, resurrected in full bodily form.  And Jesus is no different.  God does not need a shell of who we are.  He did not make us this way, He has no interest in seeing us this way.  We are either living as we do now, or dead and sleeping in a grave with no memory, or interest in what happens today. 

But the disciples were more inclined to believe in demons masquerading as spirits or ghosts of those no longer alive, than in a resurrected Lord.  It took more than just His appearing in their room and speaking with them.  It took more than poking the holes of His wounded flesh, wounds He has chosen to keep forevermore.  It took Jesus eating a meal in front of them, before they would finally set aside their doubt.  This was Jesus subtlety teaching them their superstitions should be undone by what is real.  We don’t need the ghosts of the past, we need the Lord of today, the Lord of the future.  We should not allow our ideas of doctrines and what we think “should” be, cloud our notions of what the Lord is actually doing right now, right here in front of your face.  God is bigger than our box.  God is greater than our limitations, or our imaginations.  Now is the time for the doubt of the past to meet its end.  Is your faith capable of letting go of the past, and fastening hold of the future Jesus has in mind for you?  I hope mine is …

 

Revelations Begin ...

Mary Magdalene had fulfilled her gospel commission to take the message of hope to the new Christian church (the eleven remaining disciples).  Her message given to her directly by the Savior “should” have engendered hope, given courage, and inspired faith.  This was the first revelation Christ made to us of the completion of His work to save us from ourselves and our sins.  The first revelation of His love to us after rising from His grave; was to pause His own work and take time to comfort the grieving Mary with His words of profound love.  We were to see His Father as our Father.  We were to see His God as our God.  Jesus was alive, not dead in a tomb.  His work to pay our penalty for the sins we embrace was completed and He was on His way to His Father to see our salvation confirmed.  Mary had done as Christ had asked.  But her message bore no fruit.  She had done what Jesus Himself had told her, her new life had begun, because of the gift of Christ, but even though she had done what she was commissioned to do, her words were not heeded.  Such is the arrogance of those who are determined to pre-judge the messenger as unworthy or unreliable, rather than to hear the word of God thru whom it was given.  Mary should not have been judged by her former life, for now through the light of Christ’s gifts, her former life was passed away, and her new life had begun.  The words Mary brought from the mouth of Christ Himself should have been judged on their own merit.  For His words were a fulfillment of the mission of the Messiah, and everything He had taught them could have been brought to mind, if they had simply been willing to hear it.  But they were not.

The closest men to Christ, His most ardent followers; were not immune to chauvinism, prejudice, and despair from what they saw with their eyes, and believed to be the only “facts” that could exist.  They had seen Christ crucified.  They had seen Christ, nailed and pierced.  They had seen Christ, laid dead in a tomb.  These things they had witnessed or been told, and these things they believed.  They knew them to be certain.  Their hopes in the rabbinical view of an anti-Roman kingdom had been shattered.  Their faith had been shaken.  Their despair in their own actions taken during the killing of the One they claimed to love more than life, were now only a source of tremendous guilt.  They had accepted the idea that His body was gone from the grave, for they had witnessed that themselves.  But they only believed this was simply yet another act of Roman or Priestly cruelty, not anything more.  Despite the personal testimony of Mary Magdalene, they remained unconvinced.  They had a scriptural understanding, and personal witness, that formed a set of “facts” that could not be undone by the faith that lay within them.  Like us, they needed, their preconceptions wiped away.   Like us, they needed a revelation of Christ, that would change “how” they think, and “how” they “see” the world and the reality of the Truth of Christ.  And Christ would offer them exactly that.

It was the same day as the report of Mary.  It was the evening.  They had gathered again on this Sunday night in the upper room, for fear of the Jewish leadership.  They believed the Jews would persecute and kill them for their former association with Jesus.  But in truth, the Priests who had already heard the testimony of the 100 Roman soldiers; were not looking to silence them for what they “used” to know, but for what they might now discover.  Now that the Sabbath had ended and soon the people who had gathered at Jerusalem would be returning home from the worship of atonement, the Priests would have more time to focus on these last remaining loose ends.  But the disciples feared from their entanglement with the past.  They assumed it was because of their association with the slain Lord that they would be sought out next.  They had no idea, it was because He was arisen, that they had now become even more dangerous to the legacy of control the priests wished to maintain over the people.  Had the priests known that His own disciples did not believe He was alive; they would not have killed them.  They would instead have put them all on public display and made them testify as to their certainty that He was dead and gone.  This would have boosted the credibility of the Priests, and destroyed any hope of an early Christian church.  Their certainty despite the word of Mary, and the witness of 100 other Roman soldiers, would have been welcomed by those who oppose the gospel.  The irony was thick.

But Christ had a revelation in mind, to wipe away the misplaced fears of His disciples.  He would change their thinking in an instant.  He would alter their future in a moment.  And He would restore in them the hope for an early Christian Church meant to shake the very foundations of power in the world around them.  John records in His gospel in chapter 20 beginning in verse 19 … “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”  Notice first, John specifically points out that the doors were shut, likely locked, possibly barricaded.  The idea there was to keep the angry folks out, and keep the folks inside safe.  They had gathered there for fear after all.  Jesus does not knock on the door from the outside of this situation.  Christ is no longer to be confined or limited by the structures of men.  Christ is now freely able to show to us His divinity.  As such He appears in the midst of the secured room.  And His first words are the same ones they know, and have heard Him say on similar occasions when miraculous events had occurred – “Peace be unto you”.  The very first personal revelation of Christ to those men there is to relieve their fears.  Once again Christ addresses our most pressing needs.  Once again Christ demonstrates what it means to love another and not Himself.

Christ does not enter this room with the righteous judgment He is equipped to condemn them with.  They have all failed miserably during His trial and murder.  None of them stood with Him.  None of them offered Him comfort.  All of them did nothing, though all of them had claimed devotion to the point of sacrificing their own lives for Him.  He does not begin His conversation with them, by demanding that they acknowledge their failures, and seek forgiveness before He “allows” them to join in His ministry of saving the lost.  As with Mary, He does not hold them accountable for their very acts of failure committed only a short while ago.  Instead He does not even address these failures.  For their sins, like Mary’s, and like ours, have ALREADY been forgiven.  He does not seek perfection in His servants before they are allowed to serve.  Instead He offers perfection as a gift that will come to them over time as they learn to submit their will to His own.  In this regard, John continues in verse 20 … “And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.”  He is the Life.  He changes fear into joy.  He reveals that death is no boundary with which He will be contained, and that instead He is master over the grave and beyond it.  He shows them Himself, His wounds that prove He is no ghost or aberration, but the physical Man they know and love.  He reveals again to men the Truth of Himself.  Truth is found in Christ alone, not in the failed interpretations of scriptures the disciples had clung to only moments before.  The Truth had made them free.  Scripture could now be interpreted in the Light and the Truth of Jesus Christ, never again outside of Him.

John continues in verse 21 … “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”  Jesus was calling them to be sent into the world.  Notice the goal of the follower of Christ is NOT to seek isolation from those in corruption who need to be saved.  Instead He sends His own into the world, like His Father had sent Him.  These men were not to be evangelists by profession, but by example.  They were to be living ambassadors of Love.  They were to demonstrate what it means to Love others to a world who was in such desperate need of Love.  Christ did the will of His Father, as we are to do His will.  These men were to heal the sick because it is the will of Christ, as Christ healed because it was the will of His Father.  Christ held back love from no man or woman or child or senior citizen.  He gave Love to all who He encountered.  He sought out those in the MOST need of Him, He did not make them come to Him first.  Christ took the initiative and went to them.  Christ was sent to the world.  He came to bring Life.  He did not sit still and make those who might have an interest in Life, come figure out where He was and find Him.  Instead He brought Life openly into the world and imparted it everywhere He went.  He did not allow prejudice to keep Him away from Samaritans, Romans, or the most grievous sinners.  Instead He welcomed them all like the precious children of His that they are.

Jesus does not ask them to become preachers and teachers by trade.  He does not tell them to collect money so that their ministries have the finances to be successful.  He does not tell them to worry about money at all.  For Christ did not rely on finances to do the will of His Father.  Money was not a concern at all where Christ was involved.  But people were, and people are.  To bring Love to those in need was the commission He was enrolling His erring disciples into.  It would be the sharing of love that would bring perfection into the world, and into His own followers.  It would be Love that alone which would offer the motivation to change, and the power of Christ to effect it.  John continues in verse 22 … “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: [verse 23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”  Notice that the power of Christ, in His Spirit, was not something they inherently had within them, but was instead a gift to them and to us, like everything else that has to do with our salvation.  It does not come from within us, but as a gift.  The receiving of the Holy Spirit was done here, not at Pentecost.  That later day was a manifestation of a gift that had ALREADY been given.  This is an important realization and revelation – salvation had already been accomplished – these gifts and revelations were a publication of an event that has ALREADY transpired.

Verse 23 is an echo of this sequence of events.  For those who accept the message and love of the good news of Christ; they have ALREADY been forgiven.  It is time to tell them this incredibly good news.  The disciples themselves had not asked for forgiveness for their own failures as yet, but Christ had already forgiven them, and was now inviting them to join Him in ministry to the world.  He was not giving them bags of gold to finance their ministry or end poverty, but instead was breathing into them His Spirit to perfect the Love of others within them.  Love would be enough to make their living examples a ministry that could not be contained.  Those who accepted what they said about salvation being the gift Christ had ALREADY given; their sins were ALREADY forgiven.  Those however, who like them, only moments before had rejected the good news of Christ, retained the lack of hope that comes with refusing the forgiveness Christ ALREADY offers, would retain that hopelessness.  We choose to retain our own sins, not because we are forced to by our own weakness, but because we choose to by pushing away the freedom He so longs for us to accept.  Those who will not hear, or accept the gift and revelation of the Truth of Christ, are dooming themselves to the slavery of their own beliefs.  Their sins are retained by their refusal to let go, and accept the gift of His salvation and freedom.  Christ had changed the minds and perceptions of His disciples in that room that evening because they did not continue to reject the idea of His divinity after they had seen His revelation to them.  They let go their fears of the past, and were made free from the Truth of His presence.

Only God could forgive sins.  Christ could forgive us, because He is God.  He was not telling His disciples they had the power of forgiveness, He was telling them they had the honor of revealing the forgiveness of Christ to the world.  Those who would hear the gospel would find forgiveness of Christ already active in their minds and hearts.  Those who would reject the gospel of Christ would leave themselves with no hope of forgiveness, for none was left who could grant it.  This was His most powerful revelation to those men in the upper room – that He was the sole source of our salvation – it would be His gift to us, and nothing we could do for ourselves.  For self is always the enemy of our own salvation.  For the ten men, and Mary, who were there, faith was once again renewed and affirmed and put into action.  Thomas however, was missing at this event.  Perhaps he had been out to find food.  Perhaps he had an errand to run.  But Thomas was not present to personally witness this revelation of Christ to the others.  And Thomas was not able to accept this testimony based on the word of others alone.  He needed a personal revelation as well.  John chronicles the response of Thomas beginning in verse 24 … “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. [verse 25] The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Thomas had heard the message of Jesus being alive now twice; first from Mary, now from the other ten.  But Thomas could not take the good news of the gospel just on the testimony of others, he needed more.  He too needed a personal revelation in order to be sure.  He wanted to believe.  He wanted like the others to be so sure.  But he was not.  So even though the ninety and nine had been assured, the needs of the one still searching sheep aroused the attention of the One who meets every need, and loves every soul.  John continues in verse 26 … “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.”  Notice first, there was nothing significant about the day of the week in which Christ appeared.  The first time was on Sunday to affirm the testimony of Mary to his followers.  This time it was on Monday a little more than week later to meet the needs of Thomas.  This time, just like the first, the doors were secured again, and Christ enters the room anyway appearing the midst of them.  Once again, He offers His greeting of peace to them all.  This time Thomas was there to hear it for himself.

Now it was time to give Thomas the faith he would need, now it was time to give Thomas the revelation he had required.  John continues in verse 27 … “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”  Christ wanted to insure that Thomas too, would be certain.  Christ wanted to blow away every doubt, and every remaining shred about “how” Thomas thought.  Thomas needed to “know” and Christ was there to insure that he did.  Thomas responds in verse 28 … “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”  No more doubts lingered in Thomas.  He now addresses Christ not as his friend, but as his Lord, and his God.  The divinity of Christ is no longer even a question in the mind of Thomas.  He is convinced with a faith no one will ever be able to take from him in the future.  But there is a greater Truth that must be revealed to them all.  John continues in verse 29 … “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”  The revelations of Christ are not all to be seen.  The most important revelations of Christ will be experienced in the lives of those who believe.  It will be the freedom from the slavery to self and sin, that is the experience of revelation we will still be able to witness for ourselves.  This gift of salvation is not theoretical, but experiential.  It is personal to each of us.  It does not come in a corporate block, but in a one-on-one method.

The men in that room all needed to hear from Christ that His revelations were not limited to those who could “see” Him, but to those who would choose to believe in Him.  That message was recorded not only for the Greeks of his day, but for us who would read these words, never having seen the person of Jesus Christ, but would be able to discern His revelation to us in the form of the salvation He brings us as His gift.  Now to see Christ, we need only look at the acts of love and benevolence offered unselfishly to those in need.  It is there that we see Christ reflected to the world.  It is in the Love we show to others that we find Him today.  When it is we who show this kind of unconditional love to others, it is we who reflect Him.  When we Love without judgment or condemnation, instead loving alone to the point of redemption, it is we who join with Him, we are sent, as He was sent. 

It is not our former lives that dictate our worthiness to share in His ministry.  It is not our financial acumen or wealth that enables us to minister for Christ.  It is our willingness to submit our own will to His, and our willingness to reflect His so great love to others through us.  John seems to recognize that there are too many miracles to contain in His gospel, or perhaps any gospel.  He pens this epilogue in verse 30 … “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: [verse 31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  John offers us His insights into the proof of the divinity of Christ.  But more, he offers us the revelations of God who walked our earth, and lived a life of perfect love.  God is love.  His kingdom is comprised of those who love.  It was for love that He saved us.  It was for love that He wishes to take us home with Him.  It was for love that He was given to the world.  It will be only love that sees the world redeemed, and us with it.  Love is the only answer that can finally and fully defeat evil.

 

Fact versus Faith ...

There are very few absolutes in the world around us.  We can scientifically verify the existence of gravity by its affects on us as we attempt to defy it.  We can measure the force of gravity, and then ascribe the measurement in ‘weight’.  And since everyone has a personal familiarity with the concept of gravity and its effects, we begin to accept gravity as an absolute truth.  But for example, if you tried to examine the great number of things in your life you take for granted as truth, you would find little absolute proof of any of them. 

Take your name and parents for instance, are you really certain your name is what you have been brought up to believe?  Could it have been different on your birth certificate?  How can you scientifically prove your birth certificate is accurate?  Could it’s authors have been lying about certain facts?  Was the hospital notary in on the deception?  Could you truly be the product of another entire set of parents but simply taken at birth?  You were too young to know, so how do you scientifically prove something that happened before your cognitive memory?  Ah yes, the good old DNA test, we can get one of those now and clear all this up (at least we know we were not stolen at birth).  But DNA does not verify the truth of the documentation associated with your birth.  With some work at it, we could round up witnesses, get copies of corroborating documentation, talk to the doctor who delivered us, etc..  At some point we would have enough support to believe the truth we know, but it would take work, and in some rare cases may never be proven scientifically.  Is it any less true, without the science to support it?

If you use the name you have been brought up to believe is yours, if you answer to it, if others know you by it, then it is a truth, even if it conflicts with paper signed long ago.  At some point each person chooses to be known by the name they validate, if they are not happy with the one they have, they change it.  The point here is that some truth is simple enough to believe in, without a ton of scientific data to back it up.  That presumption of truth, is called faith.  In order to have faith, you have to trust the person(s) you put your faith in.  It does you little good to put your faith in something random, unknown, or unfamiliar.  You may ‘bet’ on someone else’s good nature, but that can hardly be called having ‘faith’ in them.  Faith and trust then are in separable.  And with faith, you may be able to believe in the truth of something without all the science behind it, and sometimes even when what you look at, tells a different story.

Most people who support evolution as the basis of our origin, believe Christians to be using a ‘weak’ argument whenever they rely on ‘faith’ in the absence of scientific fact.  Yet the ‘science’ of evolution requires a great deal of ‘faith’ as it cannot answer many pertinent questions either.  When science lacks the answers, it is rationalized as ‘undiscovered’.  But when a question regarding God comes up, any response of ‘faith’ is deemed as naïve blind obedience.  I suppose the reason for this is a fundamental lack of trust in who our God really is, and what He is all about.  Consider for a moment what we believe about our God; that He is good, and that He wants only good for us; and that we are free to choose for ourselves.  Given this, we are not slaves, because we choose to serve Him.  This is not forced labor, it is labor based in love.  Given God’s intentions for us, we can trust in Him, to ALWAYS look out for our best interests (even if they conflict with our own wisdom).

I love the example of Abraham in scripture who is touted as having great faith to leave the land of his father, for a land he had never seen, based solely on a promise from God.  I love how at age 100 he finally has the son he was promised by God to populate the earth like the sands of the seas.  But most of all I admire the relationship Abraham had with Christ, that he was so close to Jesus, they actually talked to each other.  Abraham knew it was God, when God told him to take Isaac to sacrifice him.  Think about this for a second.  God was telling Abraham to commit first degree murder of his only son, as a sacrifice to Him.  At the time ONLY pagan / heathen gods demanded such child sacrifice, and these rituals were always STRONGLY condemned by God.  Yet here He is, asking for the same thing.  I would have freaked out, and refused to accept this was really God talking, sounds way more like Satan to me than God.  But Abraham knew the voice of God first hand, had followed it all his life, and did so again, hoping against hope God would withdraw his request.  Not until the angel stopped Abraham from actually committing murder, did God stop this ‘test’ of his faith. 

We have such a hard time believing that God will follow through on His promises to us.  And so we ‘help’ God by taking care of ourselves financially instead of sharing our money back with him.  We protect ourselves from the world, by keeping away from homeless crazy people who need us, but might hurt us while we sleep.  We avoid dangerous places like prisons, soup-kitchens, shelters, hospitals, and nursing homes for fear of our own mortality.  And we think we follow God in faith.  How much ‘faith’ does living this way really require?  Is that why we don’t give our faith a good work-out like we do our bodies?  We play it safe all the time, risk little or nothing, and learn to trust little at all. 

We couch our prayers for the sick in weak words like “but let it be according to Your will” as if it would ever be God’s will for someone to suffer or die.  We suffer and die from our own choices, and from the effects of evil on others.  Why not pray boldly for healing instead of just comforting the loved ones?  Is it because we don’t want to give ‘false’ hope to the sick; with our weak faith perhaps the hope would be false.  I say instead we boldly ask God for the miracles He wants to pour out on us.  Stop hiding behind weak words, and ask God for what we really want.  Let Him say no, if He does not want to grant our request, but let us make the request in faith with power.  In faith that KNOWS God wants to pour out His healing upon us so we don’t even have room to receive it. 

This kind of faith takes trust.  It’s risky to call out for God to help and put the attention on Him to see if He does. 

Faith then is not the last resort of those who lack scientific proof of their beliefs; rather it is the first thing we look to in any situation we face.  We rely on our faith to bridge the gaps in our knowledge, not because we have NO knowledge of God, simply because we may not yet have a complete knowledge of God.  We add faith to our reason, and to our personal experience with God, and in so doing, faith grows.  As we witness the results of trusting God, we constantly prove His care and goodness in our lives.  Once you begin to KNOW what God does in your life, your faith starts a fire inside you, that no man, and no evil can ever put out.  This becomes yet another avenue of a life altering experience.  Our discovery of God and His true character and intentions makes us stronger still.  Our incredible weakness and unworthiness, covered in a blanket of love that changes the core of who we are.

Of course this kind of faith is not something to play with kids.  Once you get infected with trust like this, and see results like this, you will catch fire like you can’t imagine.  You will not be able to shut off the spickett once that channel gets opened up in your life.  Once this gift of faith God puts in your heart starts to bare harvest, watch out.  You may just single-handedly change the world, not you per se, but God working in you and through you…