Belief and unbelief

John 10: 22- 42

Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptising in the early days. Here he stayed and many people came to him....and in that place many believed in Jesus.

What does it take for us to believe in Jesus? It seems that even people who met him in the flesh often could not accept his claims of who he was. In this passage Jesus was in Jerusalem, the religious center of the nation, the holy city. He was moreover in the temple area, walking in Solomon's Colonnade. Yet there was a group, the religious camp no doubt, who took this as an opportunity for confrontation. They wanted 'proof' but Jesus refuses to tell them what they are not prepared to hear. Instead, he tells them to open their eyes to what they have seen of his actions. This seems to be the way Jesus deals with those who demand 'proof' before they will believe. Here again Jesus compares them to those who are his 'sheep', who listen to his voice, who are known by him and who follow him.

Does God really make it so difficult for us to believe? Is it only for some 'spiritual elite' group? I was speaking recently to my brother who does not know the Lord. As I shared my 'faith' with him, he admits.....'Yes, it is good that you have faith....but faith is not something easy to have'. I shared the gospel and much more how I have experienced God's reality in my life. My brother was not demanding rational proofs but was merely looking at faith from a detached observer's point of view. Some people demand proofs, some remain aloof and try to be objective about the whole area of faith. At the end of our conversation, all I could leave him with was the thought that he might want to speak to God and ask Him to reveal Himself. Or in the least to ask God himself the questions he has about faith.

Jesus often does not reveal himself to those who should know better yet stubbornly reject him. This was the case in Jerusalem, among those whose minds had already been made up. Their questions were closed ended. Nothing he did or said would change their minds. But there were those in the desert, across the Jordan who 'came to him'. I would imagine they came with hearts open, with minds eager to learn......and they were enabled to 'see', to recognize in the person of Jesus, the Messiah John the Baptist had pointed to. They were entrusted with the gift of faith. They 'believed' in Jesus. And may those of us who 'believe' continue to come to Jesus with open hearts and minds.

(On this day, May 1st, sixteen years ago, my younger son was born very prematurely with a birth weight of 1.1 kg. God brought him through the two months in intensive care and he is a healthy teenager today. But his twin brother born half and hour before him, died. The candle is lighted in celebration of a birthday and in memory of one who has returned to God's loving embrace)