Daily Readings and Thought for August 20th. “THAT WE MAY SEE AND BELIEVE”
What does it need before people believe anything? Today we have more means of obtaining convincing evidence to prove something than ever before! There is more evidence of the incredible marvels of creation than ever before – yet more than ever people have their minds so set on believing there is no God, no Creator, that all that exists is the result of pure chance. Indeed, to believe that all the remarkable forms of life came to exist – out of total nothingness!
Part of the responsibility for the emergence of this attitude of thinking must rest upon the poor image of the fractured churches. Over the centuries they become fractured and factionalized and worship often became a ritual instead of a conviction of the heart arising from a diligent reading of God’s word and an honest look at all the remarkable forms of life.
When the Bible was first printed and ‘ordinary’ people could read it themselves there was a real spiritual awakening. Such awakening is a personal matter; the scriptures tell us that the Creator has power to see the hearts of all and knows those who are genuinely seeking. How tragic when he finds none!
We are reading in Jeremiah the tragedy that befell Jerusalem and it reminds us of Psalm 81 about the attitude of God. “My people did not listen to my voice … so I gave them over to their stubborn hearts” [v.11,12]. Now we meditated along this way after reading the words quoted at the top of these thoughts. They occur in today’s reading of Mark 15. Jesus is on the cross and “the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross that we may see and believe.” [v.31-32]
They had closed their minds to all the remarkable things he had done. When many believed in Jesus because of the raising of Lazarus these men even planned to put Lazarus as well as Jesus to death (John 12 v.10). This demonstrated the fact that when human beings lock their minds into a way of thinking then no amount of evidence to the contrary matters. This is happening today with the convictions of belief in evolution.
Paul wrote, “we walk by faith, not by sight” [2 Cor.5 v.7] but our faith rests upon an abundance of evidence– and one day, and it seems it could be very soon, our faith will be turned to sight! But for those, like the scoffers at the cross, who say they will believe only when they see – it will be too late! Are there any unbelievers reading this? May they learn to “walk by faith” “and believe.”
