Believe It or Not!

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29, NIV 1984)



We struggle with all kinds of sin in our lives, which very nearly equates to selfishness. But, the most common sin among believers is... unbelief! If we really believed our lost friends and family were going to suffer for eternity, separated from God, would we let them pass on without doing everything in our power to guide them toward the Truth? Yet many times we do nothing. And, have you ever wondered why we don't see miracles performed like were performed by the disciples? I'm convinced it is because of our unbelief.

If you don't think you're one who suffers from unbelief, then consider the sin in your life. The one sin with which you struggle most should come to mind immediately. Whatever it is, would you do it if Jesus were standing in front of you? Of course we would make every effort to be on our best behavior. But, Jesus is standing in front of you all the time. If we truly believed it, we would refrain from our favorite sin.

Jesus knew this was going to be problem. He advised us against our unbelief when he said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Luke 18:17, NIV 1984) Those of us who are parents know full well that our young children can be completely convinced of their beliefs without the slightest evidence. This is the kind of blind faith necessary for salvation and, to make it easier for us "adults," God gives us loads of evidence upon which to base it (Romans 1:20).

I often think of how great it would be to have been in the presence of Jesus during his ministry on Earth. It would have been so easy to have that child-like faith if we'd heard him teach and seen him perform the miracles. Well, that didn't seem to be the case for the disciples. Jesus had to ask them more than once, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:40, NIV 1984) It seems that the disciples, even though they witnessed Jesus performing miracles, could only perform miracles themselves after they were filled by the Holy Spirit. It was then that their lives changed and they became bold evangelists. We have the Holy Spirit, but not the faith.

So, do we have any hope? I think we do. As any parent knows, even children who blindly believe in Jesus, continue to sin.