Do you think it would have been easier for you to trust in Jesus if you lived in the first century? Would you more readily have believed that Jesus was the Son of God if you saw him do a miracle with your own eyes, instead of reading someone else’s account of it?
What I am saying is, do you think that believing would come easier to you
if you got to see and touch Jesus? hmmm. . .
Imagine with me for a minute hearing Jesus talk about God his Father,
watching the expression on his face,
hearing the tone of his voice,
seeing the look in his eyes . . .
just imagine watching and hearing Jesus laugh,
hold a child on his lap and hug her,
and picture him in conversations with his friends. Hmmm . . .
"Oh yes, I would have believed in Jesus if I had been there—heck, I would believe now, if I could just see him," people have remarked to me. Maybe, maybe not. After all, the Jewish people knew the many scriptures that foretold his birth and so many details about him, but most did not believe. Think of it--they waited for the Messiah for centuries, yet when Jesus stood right in front of them, they failed to recognize him.
Consider John’s eye-witness recollection:
“So the Jews grumbled about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” John 6.41-51, ESV
Jesus, the Messiah, did not come like the Jews of the day expected. He came out from amongst them, born to Joseph and sweet Mary in a backwood, no-count town, so when Jesus said he came from heaven, they did not believe—they scoffed, despite the miraculous signs, despite the life-changing message of his teaching.
Sooo ... would it really be easier to believe if you saw Jesus yourself,
or is it easier to believe in Jesus Christ now,
having 2000 years of Christian faith that has come before us?
Think of it, we have the record of a loving God in relationship with his people—
a tradition of faith that has lasted because of people who found such meaning, hope, truth and freedom in Jesus Christ,
they gave their ‘all’ for him.
And I submit to you it is easier to believe NOW because of courageous men and women of Christian faith who lived their entire lives in service to God so that others might know him . . . men like William Tyndale, so passionate about translating the Scripture into English--that the common man would have access to the Bible--he was burned at the stake in 1536. We read God’s plan for mankind, from beginning to end, including his most important plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. In our hands, we hold the historical record of a God who has provided for, faithfully sustained, and interacted with his children personally. How remarkable is that, I ask you?
No No, easier to believe now because we have the Holy Spirit of God who resides within us bearing witness to the truth of God’s Word and his actions in our lives . . .
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, Jesus said. God invites all of us, but each of us chooses our response. The Father says ‘come’, but our own interests and appetites oft restrain us. ‘The price will be too high!’ Yes, in some cases, my friend, that may just be true. There is a moral law associated with being a follower of Christ, and so in today's "anything goes" culture, young men retreat, young women turn away . . . and the Savior weeps.
Nonetheless, the Father bids us ‘come’ so that we might know Jesus. Don't you see--it is easier to believe and trust in Jesus Christ now than ever before? We have the written Word of God, more than 2000 years of church history as the Gospel spread throughout the world, lives were and are radically changed by the life-saving, life-changing Gospel. We have the Holy Spirit living within who leads, guides, comforts, woos and convicts and makes the presence of God known in our lives.
Oh yes, I believe!
Come, Jesus Come. Stephen McWhirter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UViC6DllCeA
Walking in the truths of Jesus,
Christine
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