Luke ~ "How am I supposed to fight?"
Ben Kenobi ~ "Your eyes can deceive you...don't trust them."
I recently watched a little snippet of the "Chosen" series which was showing on my Facebook feed. Now, one of these days I'll take the time to watch the whole first season, but only if I don't have to enroll in anything to do so. Yeah, I'm funny like that. Anyway, in this video clip, Jesus is speaking/teaching a small group of young children when something He said caught my attention. As Jesus was explaining justice to the children, He told them "There are many things which you do not yet understand about scripture, and that is fine." What? Jesus telling children that it's ok not to know the bible? Yes, because I believe that this fell in line with the message Jesus was giving to all who would take the time to hear Him. Understand that back in the day, these words of Jesus were so foreign to the people of His time that they often refused to see what it was that was right in front of their noses. The parables which Jesus used to illustrate His teachings often included references to those He was speaking to. Of course, through these parables, Jesus was speaking to the people in a way they would understand. How many times have you been scrolling through the scriptures and suddenly came across a passage that suddenly opens your eyes to a new understanding? I've been there far too many times. Why didn't we see this passage before? Or, if we did, why didn't we understand it better? Well, for lack of a better explanation, God does not reveal all things at once. I am a firm believer that we see with our eyes yet believe in our hearts. Yet, that's not always the case when it comes to knowing and understanding Jesus. Like many, I've struggled with the prospect of believing in One whom I could not see. I knew that Jesus existed, but I could not physically see Him to assure myself that He was there. I was trusting my eyes to verify what I already knew in my own heart to be true. I saw this carry over into church teaching as well. Whenever I heard that pastor say "Come Lord Jesus," I immediately was excited at the thought of finally seeing my Savior. Well, if we go down that road we'll be kicking rocks for a long time. The trouble is most well meaning Christians have missed the boat. Instead of waiting for Jesus to arrive we should be happy that He is here.
The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days His disciples were still inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, "Peace to you!" The He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20: 25 - 29 NKJV
So tell me, are you blessed today? Have you known and trusted in Christ Jesus even though you could not prove Him with your own eyes? Many believers stake claim to know Christ, yet they chafe at the thought of Jesus being alive today. I do not blame the believers for this, for the institutional church narrative has long held that there is a divide between Jesus and those who believe in Him. That barrier is sin. We read in scripture that all have sinned {Romans 3:23}. Many well intentioned believers read this passage and right away think that they will always be separate from a God who supposedly loves them. Yet, here's what else we find in scripture. We are now dead to our sins {Romans 6:11}. Not only has that sin barrier been removed from us, but it is Christ Jesus who lives within us today {Galatians 2:20}. So, who do we trust, the scriptures or the pastors? Well, the bible is correct, we were once dead in our sin trespasses. However, that is the old man, our former self before Christ was introduced. Through Jesus, that old man I once was has been put to death {Romans 6:6}. What remains is a new creation in Christ {2 Corinthians 5:17}. It is not with our eyes that we will come to know Christ, but knowing Him in our hearts. Indeed, God will bless those who believe with the revelation of the knowledge of Christ in us. This happens when it pleases the Father, for not all things are revealed at once.
Consequently, faith is out of tidings, yet the tidings through a declaration of Christ.
Romans 10: 17 ~ Concordant scriptures
~Scott~
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