Believing is Seeing

August 2, 2017

Today’s Bible Reading:  2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33; John 4

Journal Entry on a passage from today’s reading: 

Topic: Faith

SCRIPTURE:  John 4:48

"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." (John 4:48 NIV)

OBSERVATION:

This passage puts me in mind of another later in John’s Gospel when Thomas would not believe in Jesus’ resurrection until he saw it for himself:

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)

Jesus apparently may or may not give “proofs” to individuals, but true faith is believing even without seeing. Often even seeing is not believing. In the epic Star Wars motion picture, The Empire Strikes Back, there is one scene where Luke Skywalker is being trained by the master Jedi Yoda. Luke tries to levitate his space cruiser out of the marshy swamp where it had sunk, but eventually gives up saying something like, “It’s too big. I can’t.” Yoda then proceeds to use the force to lift the ship up out of the mire and onto dry land. Luke watches with wide eyes and dropped jaw; “I… I can’t believe it,” he finally utters. Yoda replies simply, “And that is why you fail.”

It is often said, “seeing is believing.” Therefore, seeing is the actuator of faith. Jesus says that the actuator is actually believing first, which turns this saying around: “Believing is seeing.”   

APPLICATION:

I will do well to remember my faith. Seeing the Lord work is a blessing and a booster to my faith. Not seeing and yet believing, however, is how faith becomes strong. 

PRAYER:

In times of not seeing, Lord help my faith not waver but become stronger.

Through Christ. Amen.  -AP