Believing Is NOT Seeing

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls ----- 1 Peter 1:8 - 9

Justification: that pivotal moment when we either accept Jesus or walk away. It is faith that allows us to love Him and say "yes, I believe" even though we cannot see Him before us. We cannot touch Jesus or hear Him speak in our ears. And still we put our trust in Him. Only faith could produce such results.

Thomas had the advantage of seeing the risen Christ standing before him. He was able to touch the holes in Jesus' hands--holes made by the nails which fixed Him to the cross. Thomas placed his own hand into the gash in Jesus' side--the gash that verified His death. After seeing and touching, Thomas proclaimed his faith. And Jesus said to him:

Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29).

You've heard that old adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. And we believe another adage: a picture never lies. We've heard (and spoken) these sayings so often that we actually believe them. We accept the "proof" of a photograph because we believe that it has literally captured a moment in time.

Yet from photography's earliest stages, pictures have been manipulated to show the meaning the photographer wants to portray. The ghost pictures of William H. Mumler (c. 1860s and 70s) show portraits of grieving widows and mothers and fathers with "ectoplasmic" images of their loved ones standing behind or next to them. The subjects believed that grainy, cloudy image appearing with them was truly the spirit form of their dearly departed. After all, a picture wouldn't lie! How ironic that Mumler was exposed as a fraud when it was discovered some of those images were revealed to be actual living residents of Boston. The doctored negatives spoke a thousand words.

Jesus stressed the importance of believing without needing physical proof. Tangible evidence does not build faith. God does. Knowing God, trusting Him and His promises, praising Him though the evils of the world surround us...these are the fundamentals that nurture and sustain our faith. Practicing them keep us grounded though the world seems to be falling apart.

We are people of faith. We do trust in the promises of God: there is salvation from sin, there is new life in Christ, there is judgment when God will make right all the evils we've suffered, there is a reward for faithful living. Keeping the focus on Jesus despite what we see all around us takes faith. In the midst of misery and hopelessness, in times of despair, when people around us ask, "Where is God?," we people of faith can tell them with confidence, "He is here." Though we cannot see Him with the eyes of this earthly body, we can tell people that we know Jesus is present.

Oh, God, what a gift you've given us, this gift of faith. Some speak of it as a "blind faith. That's not necessarily a negative. Perhaps we should affirm that more often. We are blind. We do not see. And yet we believe. And we love. And we rejoice with words and emotion that comes from places within us that are a mystery. This is faith. And it comes from you.

God, I accept this gift. Help me to use it lavishly and wisely. I know you will grow it. I know you will reveal yourself through it. I pray for my work that comes from it, Father. I pray for work that builds others...not me. I leave that work to you, Father God Almighty.

 

Posted with Blogsy