The Difficulty of Faith and Believing

 "And Jesus said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?'" Matthew 8:26a

Over the next few posts, I'm going to ponder a bit about just how difficult this thing called faith really is. For many of us who grew up in faith-filled households, we may never really have considered how difficult it really is to believe in something.Or, we fail to fully appreciate the challenge that others may face when they critically examine our faith and want to know how we can believe such things. 

At the heart of this, since I am a Christian, I truly believe that there are some things about Jesus that those of us who have "always" been Christians simply take for granted that are actually really challenging to believe when we think about it. I'll be including some of those in these posts, not to cause any reason to doubt, but rather, to simply give us pause to think about how the things we believe may sound to someone who doesn't share the same background as we have.

So, to kick things off, let's look at the central action of the Christian faith. Jesus rose from the dead. Now, right from the start, this really is a challenge. Who of us has ever seen someone who was dead come back to life? Even more, who of us has witnessed someone who was beaten, whipped, nailed to a cross, and died in that horrific manner come back to life about 36 hours later? There have been many times when I have been at a viewing of someone who has passed from this life, and as I look at the shell of the person who has left, there have been times when I truly believed that this person could live again. At the same time, there have been many times when I have this same view, but instead am challenged to think just how incredibly difficult it is to believe that what I see can and will come back to life some day.

The resurrection of Jesus is the center of the Christian faith, but that is not something that is easily believed. Why do you think there are so many who try to find the "historical Jesus", or to come up with reasons that He didn't really die, but was only unconscious and became aware once in the cool of the tomb? It's because we live with the hard, cold fact that death is the end of this life. No one comes back from death. It's permanent, at least from what we can see. The graveyards are filled, and continue to get more full, not less so. 

When I think about that first Easter morning, I have come to really relate to the disciples and appreciate them. Jesus had prepared them for this day, but it was still so incredible to think that He had come back to life that Jesus Himself had to come and literally breathe His Spirit on them to bring that belief. And then, Jesus would say that those of us who haven't seen and yet believe are, in some ways, even more blessed than they. That's because we put our faith, our belief, in something that we will not see in this lifetime.

Perhaps you have never really considered the challenge of believing that a dead person can come back to life. Or, perhaps you are reading this and that is the thing that you are struggling with when it comes to the Christian faith. When I think about the resurrection of Jesus, that is when I really come to realize the truth of what Martin Luther wrote about the Holy Spirit in his explanation of the third portion of the Apostles Creed. "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel..." I cannot believe something that my senses and reason tell me is unbelievable. In the end, it has to be God who brings such faith to me.

As a final note for this long entry, let me just say that I have also come to have a lot more lenient view of the disciples overall as I study the Scriptures. They were very much just like us, and being there with Jesus didn't really change the difficulty of believing in Him all that much. For example, just read the expanded context of the verse at the beginning and tell me if you would have little faith, just like them. If we're honest, we have to admit that believing Jesus and what He does and says is indeed rather difficult.

Where were you?

 Perhaps at first glance at the title of this post, you are instantly brought to that popular hymn often sung on Good Friday, which asks the question, where were you when they crucified my Lord? That is a worthy question to answer, but that is not the one that we are looking into today. Instead, we are going to turn way back in time, to what is often thought to be one of the earliest written books of the Bible. All the way back to the time of Job.

Job is an interesting book of the Bible. And our question comes toward the end of the book, when God first speaks to Job. In fact, our question for today is the second question that God asks of Job as Job tries to plead his innocence before God, in the thought that God has been unjust to him. In Job 38:4, God asks Job this question. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

For Job, this question is the culmination of a lengthy conversation that Job had with four of his friends. Briefly, Satan presented himself before God, and God presented Job to Satan as one of his faithful followers. Satan accused God of protecting Job, and that is the only reason Job is faithful. So God grants Satan the ability to take basically everything away from Job. Then, for about 35 chapter, Job and his friends discuss what caused this calamity to come upon him. Job repeatedly stated that he had done nothing wrong, to which his friends continued to reply that God doesn't just do this to someone unless they have grievously sinned against God. Finally, Job gets to the point of saying that God was unjust to bring such calamity upon him, and that is when God finally speaks. And this question begins a series of questions from God directed toward Job.

Now, at first glance, this question may seem to be an easy one for us to consider. After all, we weren't yet in existence when God laid the foundations of the world. The only being in existence at that time was God. He spoke, and our world and universe came into being. No living things existed until a few days into creation, much less mankind, which came on day six. So, no, none of us were there.

However, this question from God to Job strikes a little bit deeper than just that. It has to deal with our idea that we know better than God what is good and right for us to endure. Let's face it, we tend to want our lives to be easy and pain-free. And we tend to think that God should react to us as a loved one does. We don't tend to put our loved ones through pain and suffering. If we did, they would rightly question our love for them. (Yes, we can talk about tough love, but even then, there is a purpose behind it, and that purpose should be expressed, or else it is simply being harsh.)

So this question really is more about where we place ourselves in relation to God, the giver and provider and sustainer of our lives. Do we really know better than God what needs to happen in our lives? Where we there to see His grand design for all things when He created them? No, and that means that, since we cannot have God's view of things, there will be things that happen that make sense to Him that are simply beyond our ability to comprehend and understand. We can look through the Scriptures and see many examples of this. There are times when God allows "bad" things to happen to His people. There are even times when God is the one who designs these "bad" things. Yet, God alone sees the grand picture and the overall design of things. 

So really, this question causes us to ask ourselves, where in my life do I have a difficult time letting God do His thing? Now, right here I think I should say, we may not know the answer to that during our lifetime. God works on a really large scale, so something may happen in our lives that do not have their true impact for a generation or two, or three. God spoke powerfully through Jeremiah, but the likelihood is that Jeremiah did not see the resettlement of the promised land seventy years later. 

Since God works both intimately in our lives and on a grand design that encompasses the whole scope of time and space, it is rare for us to see the full extent of His actions at any given moment. And so, our question for today helps us realize the reality that we are the created and He is the Creator. When things don't make sense to us, it isn't that He can't explain it to us. It's more likely that what He would tell us would go far beyond what we could ever consider. That may not be the most helpful thing to hear in that moment, but it helps us keep the perspective that God knows what He is doing and still cares about us intimately.

Who Do You Say I Am?

 As we continue this series on looking at questions that God asks, which call for an answer, today's brings us to a question Jesus asked of His disciples. "But who do you say that I am?" As our plan, we will first look at the context and then at what this means for us in our lives.

Today's question is recorded in the different Gospel accounts. For our purposes, I will propose reading Luke 9:18-22 to capture the context of the question. Briefly speaking, Luke 9 begins a significant transition for Jesus. Up to this point in Luke's account of Jesus' life, Jesus has been ministering and teaching. Shortly after our brief reading, Jesus goes up on the mountain, is transfigured, and then comes down with His eyes set to go to Jerusalem to pay the price for the redemption of mankind and the initiation of the new creation. So this question comes up at a rather significant time.

Jesus has demonstrated great authority in teaching and in giving signs in the form of miracles. Great crowds are drawn to Him, and as they hear Him, and as they see these signs, these crowds are starting to form an opinion of Jesus and of who He is. Most of these people likely only hear Jesus once or twice, or see a few of His signs. Really, only the disciples get to see a larger picture of Jesus and what He is doing. So Jesus starts off this question with a primer question to the disciples. "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

The disciples give some of the various answers that they have likely heard being uttered among the groups of people coming to see Jesus. These answers show that the people have an idea of who Jesus is, but it doesn't seem to be the most complete. Again, the people haven't seen everything that the disciples have seen. John the Baptist is suggested. Elijah come back to life and performing powerful signs is an idea floated out there. A variety of other prophets is offered.

Then Jesus makes it personal for the disciples. "Who do you say that I am?" And Peter responds with a statement that becomes the rock of Christian confession. You are the Christ of God. We hear an echo of this later in Paul's writings when he writes that whoever confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead will be saved. A strong, powerful statement of faith.

It's a great exercise to look at these questions and to dig into Peter's response. It helps us see Jesus a bit more clearly. However, it also becomes a question that we find ourselves needed to come to grips with in our lives. Who do you say that Jesus is?

This is perhaps one of the larger questions we face as a Christian. Most of us probably have a pretty good answer to that question, at least from an intellectual standpoint. We answer that Jesus is God's Son. We confess that He is the Savior of the world, and that He has forgiven my sins through His life, death and resurrection for me. Though we may not completely understand how, we read that He, the Father, and the Spirit are one God, though three distinct persons, and that Jesus Himself is both fully God and fully human.

The intellectual part of that confession is important, as it demonstrates that we understand God's speaking about Himself to us. Yet, Jesus also has us go beyond that intellectual understanding to speak to our whole self. He is our Redeemer, but that calls for us to consider our lives and from what He is redeeming us. 

So here is a little exercise to help bring this home more. Take the time to actually write out some ways that you would answer Jesus if He asked you this question personally. Yes, write out the intellectual parts of it. But then, dig a little deeper. Ask yourself what this answer means for you. What does your answer say about who you are in relation to Jesus? What areas of life does this cause you to look at a little differently? Are there changes that such an answer calls for? How does this help you grow closer to Jesus?

Who do you say that I am? As you answer that question, I pray that the action of answering may serve to draw you into a deeper relationship with the one of whom you are speaking.

Questions God Asks

 Over the next several posts, I am planning to put forth questions that God/Jesus asks that, in a sense, go unanswered in their context. I will encourage you to read the Scripture reference to get the context of the question, though I will try to provide a summary for the benefit of the reader. Then, we will move into how that same question may apply to us today, given that we live in a different context, but still have the questions fit in our lives. Hopefully this series will give you opportunity to reflect, much like God intended for the initial hearers to reflect upon His questions.

For today, we are looking at Luke 7:36-50. For brief context, Jesus is invited to Simon the Pharisee's house for dinner. While dining, a sinful woman comes up and begins to wipe Jesus' feet with her hair and tears. Simon wonders to himself if Jesus knows what kind of woman this is, to which Jesus responds first with a parable and then with our question. "Do you see this woman?"

Do you see this woman? For Simon, it seems he saw a reputation rather than a woman. Perhaps he had heard of her misdeeds from others, or maybe even from her. Undoubtedly, her reputation was known in that city. If Simon's response was anything like others, the person of the woman had gotten lost beneath the clothing of her reputation. Now, to be sure, we aren't told of her specific sins, but those sins seemed to define her in the eyes of others rather than her personhood. That is what leads Jesus to ask Simon this question, one which goes unanswered.

To bring this question to bear in our lives, what occasions have you had where you have seen a person and their clothing or their reputation rather than the person? We all have those individuals that we have come to define by what they do or have done, or how they dress. For example, we see the person holding the sign by the traffic light, and we see clothing rather than the person. We have no idea of who that person is, or what their motivation might be for standing there. It could be driven purely by need, or it may be an attempt to have others provide for them so that they don't have to. It may be that they have been unable to hold down a job for a variety of reasons, or they may truly not have a place to lay their heads. We see the clothing and the sign, but rarely do we see the person. (Shoot, for the most part, we probably even avoid eye contact simply because to do so makes us uncomfortable.)

Do you see this woman? This man? This child? To get to know the person beneath the clothing or the reputation means that we have to invest in that person. For Simon, it would have meant finding out what led the woman to have a sinful reputation. Perhaps if he had done so, it would have led to compassion toward her, something that he might not rather have had to face. Compassion always calls for a price to be paid, even if it is only extra time, or perhaps a bit of heartache toward the person. And that may be why we don't want to answer this question. Do you see this woman, or this man, or this child, or this senior, or this person who dresses differently, or thinks differently, or holds to a different political party? We just don't want to have to have our way of thinking be required to change.

Yet, that is the very reason that Jesus puts this question there for us to wrestle with. It brings up our sinful tendency to avoid facing others who are not like us, or around whom we are uncomfortable. It challenges us to change the way we think and act (the biblical word for this is repent), and most of us avoid that if at all possible. Yet, to grow in maturity as a disciple of Jesus, we simply must face questions like this head-on, and address the issues they raise in our lives.

So for your exercise, think of one person in your life of whom Jesus could ask, Do you see this woman/man/child? Challenge yourself to go beneath the clothing or reputation, and actually see the person. You might be moved by compassion, and might just have your heart changed for the better.

Significant Others

 You are probably familiar with the phrase "significant others." It has come to stand for someone of great significance in your life, with a higher emphasis on someone with whom you share your life. It has been used in place of words like spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, or fiance, and carries with it a connotation of some kind of commitment. The other person is "significant" in your life. They matter. What they think matters. What they do matters. You relish having them around.

This phrase is reserved for that special person close to you. Most people that would use the phrase likely wouldn't ever speak of "significant others", with an emphasis on making it plural. Why is that? Well, the more you add that are supposed to be significant, the less significant each one becomes, or at least that is the idea. There is a whole realm of difference in significance to telling one person, "You are the one for me," and telling two different people, "You each are one of the ones for me."

I believe that is why we have such a tough time really relating to what Paul writes in Philippians 2:3-4. "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." For most people, if we can find one person in life for whom we can put our interests aside and look to theirs, that is challenge enough. Introducing others into that equation really seems to open the door for us to be taken advantage of time and time again. If we are always looking to the good of others, when will good happen for us? 

Believe me, I get this. It's not easy to set aside our own wants and desires to seek to do good for others, especially when that comes at a price for ourselves. Counting others as more significant than ourselves seems foolish. It seems like we have little dignity for ourselves, and there is no room to protect ourselves from others. And in this world where there are broken people who have fallen into sin by their nature, that is most certainly the case.

Yet, I challenge you to consider something for a moment. Let's look first to the "significant other" that you have in your life, if God has given you one. If that person lived putting your interests above their own, and then you did the same toward them, when would either of you actually be lacking anything? If you went out of your way to please the other, to do things for the benefit of the other, and knew that the other was doing the exact same thing for you, what would be the danger? Wouldn't you instead be reveling in how much each of you cared for the other, and marveling at the expressions of care you were privileged to share?

Yes, what Paul writes about here is on the idealistic side. It's the perfection that will only be found in the new creation, when Jesus makes all things new. And yet, as God's re-created people, we aren't redeemed to simply wait for that new creation before we start doing this. We are called to do it now, and to do it even when it doesn't make sense. Yes, in a world of broken sinful people, we will need to be on our guard and to act wisely, but we aren't exempt from doing this. The Spirit did inspire this for a reason. And yes, we still uphold the order of creation that God has given to us as we do that. We realize that we must speak of what God does not call for as well as that for which He does call. Yet, even as we do that, we do so as if the other was of greater significance than ourselves. 

This makes all other people "significant others" in the eyes of a Christian. We truly will never run out of opportunities to show this type of care and concern for others, and will miss far more opportunities than we could ever imagine. Yet, my hope is that reading this helps you notice a few more in your life, so that you can grow in seeing those "significant others" that God is placing in your life right now.