Have you ever
thought about why Jesus impacted the lives of his disciples in such a short
period of time? Was it simply that
they believed or hoped he was their long-awaited Messisah? It isn't clear
whether quick, short answers to our questions can be found.
Isaiah 53:2
proclaims that the Anointed One would not have a stately or majestic persona
which would naturally attract people. The Baptist baptized Jesus and saw a dove
settle upon him, which confirmed to John that Jesus was the Messiah (John
1:32-34). So John proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God and the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world.
John's proclamation
seems to have been enough for at least two of his disciples to stop following
him and begin following Jesus. Something about their conversation with him must
have ignited their desire for him. Did they follow Jesus because of what they
could see? It seems that what they saw him do and heard him teach was crucial
to their discipleship but at some point their sight became faith.
God doesn't ask us
or expect us to follow him without some visible, concrete evidence, but at some
point our "sight" must dissolve into faith. We must ask ourselves:
why am I following Christ? Our answer will not always be easily or quickly explained
because faith is the substance of our hoping and the evidence set forth in our
action (Hebrews 11:1). And sight is not faith since visual perception doesn't
require hope (Romans 8:24-25).
Dear Father, thank
you for the hope we have in Christ. Empower us to walk by faith. This I pray in
the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be strong and
courageous today walking in faith,
No comments:
Post a Comment