Monday, August 26, 2013

Is Faith Really Blind? .............................. Parables 013

If you were invisible, how would you prove that you existed? Since eyes could not see you, would you make your appeal to ears and shout messages out of nowhere to make your existence known? Or would you appeal to touch and move objects to bump into people, hoping some would realize you were there? Or would you appeal to smell, or taste? Not if you know human nature . . .  “If I can’t see it, I won’t believe it!”
 

God knows human nature. He knows we want to see to believe so He appeals to our eyes, even though He Himself is a Spirit, and no one has ever seen Him.
 

His first appeal is through the things that He made. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork . . . ” (Psalm 19:1). And our own bodies are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139). Also, “the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that we are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). He created us in such a way that we can perceive that He is . . .  by observing ourselves and the beauty and intricacy of all things that He has made.
 

His second revelation of Himself is through the prophets. These holy men were moved by the Spirit of God to write the words that God wanted them to write, words that help us see that He does exist, and words that describe Him. It is said that one picture is worth a thousand words, but the words that reveal God paint a picture in our hearts that no artist could ever paint. The writers of Scripture describe Him with such clarity that even a random selection of verses leave little doubt to His nature and character.
 

His third manifestation of Himself is through the One called the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . .  and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” 

God became a man, and he became visible so that we could see Him. Jesus Christ is “the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person.” He declared, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
 

He also said that if it was too difficult to believe Him because of his words, then believe Him because of the works that He did. These works were not limited to touching blind eyes and making them see; humanity was allowed to experience Deity with more than eyes. Jesus put His fingers in deaf ears and they could hear Him. He touched the tongue of the dumb and they could praise Him. He healed the lepers, whose sensitivity to touch was eaten away by cruel disease, so they could touch Him. He healed the lame, the sick, and the infirm, so they could serve Him. He filled the hungry and multiplied a meager supply to do it. He turned water into wine. And He controlled the wind and sea. By This, people can know that He indeed does exist.
 

And He knows our problem with believing “without seeing.” His challenge is “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” 

His challenge is accompanied by much evidence that “He is” -- His creation declares it, His Word reveals it, and the person and works of His Son prove it. Faith is not blind. There is much to see.


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