Questioning Faith

This morning's devotions got me thinking about faith: "To what extent do you live by faith? Just as we were saved by faith, we live by faith."

Have you been saved by faith? Do you think you're going to heaven? Do you even believe there is a heaven, or hell, or God, or His Son who died for you? Those are some pretty big concepts. Some people wrestle with this stuff their entire lives. In Jesus' day, there were scholars and self-appointed authorities who discussed traditions and the concepts found in the Torah, constantly. It's pretty safe to say a number of them died never seeing the Truth that stood right before them. Here we are, quite a number of years later. The Bible even says, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Do you remember what you thought, hearing about Jesus for the first time? Two thousand years ago, a young virgin had a son. How does a virgin get pregnant? That Son was God. But He was a baby? He died and came back to life. Mm, yeah. It's not like they had CPR back then. If I confess Him as Lord and Savior, I will live after I die. After I die? Doesn't dead mean just that? And reign with Him on Earth one day. When? Now that takes some BIG faith!

"Well, sure!" you say. "But I'm sold out! All in!" you say. "It's harder to believe humanity arrived by accident and has no purpose," you say. Well, that's great. You have faith. But, can I ask why you can believe all that without so much as an ounce of skepticism, but you can't believe God is working for your good? You can't believe God's going to provide everything you need? You can't believe God will give you wisdom and direction for this upcoming decision? You can't believe God will fight for you? You can't even believe God loves you? 

Were you there for the virgin birth? Did you see the empty tomb? Has anyone returned from heaven with 8x10 glossies of what goes on up there? No, no, and no. But all that you can believe. How about God's faithfulness to Noah, Abraham, Hannah, Ruth...? Oh, you think He loved them more. What about God's faithfulness to you last year when your car broke down only moments before that serious ten-car pile up down the road? What about the great job you landed years back, the one where you sat right next to the woman who led you to Jesus? Remember how God provided the money to pay the medical bills from your surgery? Do you still think He's not looking out for you? Do you still think He doesn't love you? I've got another one: If God doesn't love you, why did He give so much to spend all eternity with you? Would you give even a portion of what you have to spend the rest of your life with someone you don't like? Why would He give His all? Why would He spend every moment transforming you into a new creature, shed His blood washing your sin away, expend resurrection power securing your eternity -- if He didn't love you?

So, can we agree, He has proven His love for you? And if He loves you, and you believe He does, why do you not have the faith to trust that what He has provided, what He is doing in your life is for His glory and your good? Are you willing to live your life with the same degree of faith it takes to believe in a virgin birth or an empty tomb? Are you willing to confess, "With God, nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37)?