The Tendency To Believe. 04/27/2014 (Morning thought)

John 9:6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

This passage of scripture recounts one of the most shining examples of faith in Christ, a faith that is fueled by a fundamental disposition to believe. This particular man had been born blind, and as Jesus was passing by one day, He stopped by the man and anointed his eyes with clay, then sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. What is worthy of note in this experience is that the man did not ask Jesus for any healing, neither did he know who Jesus was, yet by his willingness to obey, even the voice of a stranger, shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had a ready mind, a disposition to believe.

This same attitude was manifested in Peter, who without thinking or calculating any risks, stepped out in the middle of the deep blue sea and walked on water at the command of Christ, thereby demonstrating a childlike faith, that does not ask many questions before believing. As a direct result we find a multitude of miracles being done by God through Peter during and after the day of Pentecost, for God does work mightily through those who harbor a disposition to believe.

Now it is true that we are instructed to "Prove all things" and to "Try the spirits" to see whether they be of God, especially in these days when spurious miracles abound everywhere. Yet in our "Proving" and "Trying" we should always make allowance for the miraculous manifestations of God's power in our lives, those experiences where a living faith in the Eternal God finds active exercise.

In our day there is a growing tendency to trust in that which is seen, rather than trusting in Him who is invisible, and as a result our faith gets cramped and stifled, being limited to the physical evidences we are accustomed to every day. Logical, discretionary reasoning should never be allowed to squelch our faith in God, neither should they lead us to put finite limits on what he is able to do, for nothing is impossible with God.

We therefore end with a passage of scripture that reminds us of our duty and privilege to exercise faith in God every day, for it's the only way that the Lord can take us from this world to the next. Let's read:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

May this be the theme of our Christian experience, for God is faithful who has promised. God bless!