(NOTE: If you have been keeping up with the Lectionary readings, you will note that these notes are from the recent readings of Matthew 9 and Genesis 12.)
Because I said so! How many of you have heard those words coming out of your mouth? When I was a teenager, I told myself that I would never say those words to my kids. Well, this week, I found myself thinking those words even though I bit my tongue and didn’t say them. Sometimes we get tired of giving reason after reason after reason, none of which are accepted without a lengthy discussion or rebuttal. Sometimes, just sometimes, we are tempted to say, “Because I said so, and that’s all the reason you need.” I wonder if Jesus was ever tempted to say those words to those unbelieving Pharisees, those skeptics who had an argument or rebuttal for everything Jesus did or said.
In the readings for this past week, I see at least 3 important lessons about Faith.
1. Faith involves Belief. Belief is mentally accepting something as true.
- Abraham believed God just because God said so. Abraham believed God's Word.
- The synagogue leader came to Jesus for the healing of his daughter even though she was already dead. He believed that Jesus could do something for her.
- The woman with the hemorrhaging problem also believed that just touching Jesus’ garment would make her well.
- We also see those who did not believe … the Pharisees who saw Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, the mourners at the home of the dead girl, those who would dare to laugh at the authority of God. Notice what Jesus did – he rebuked them, answered them, and put them out of the house.
- What about us? Do we believe God’s promises to us? Do we believe God when he calls us to do something? When God says “Go,” do we believe that God will be with us as Abram did? Will you believe, too? Or will you be excluded because of your unbelief? The unbelieving mourners were excluded from seeing Jesus perform that great miracle of bringing the little girl back to life. They were not allowed to witness that wonderful moment because of their unbelief. What are you missing out on because of your unbelief?
Faith involves Obedience. Obedience means acting on what we believe to be true.
- Abraham believed and then he acted. He obeyed God’s direction and left his hometown taking his wife and household, and went – even when he didn’t know where he was going … or why. God said go, so Abram went. He went simply because God said so. True faith involves obedience to God’s directions just because God says so.
- The synagogue leader believed, and then went to Jesus to get help from Him.
- The woman believed, and then acted by going and touching Jesus’ garment.
- Matthew, the tax collector, believed Jesus’ call to follow, and he left all to follow Jesus.
- What is Jesus calling you to do? Do you believe that God will do what He says He will do? Will you act on your belief? Faith involves Obedience. We must be willing to obey God’s call to us to be a witness for Him in our everyday lives.
Faith involves Hope. Hope is that end result that we see as a benefit or promise.
- For Abraham, his hope was the promise that God made to him. Because he had hope that God would keep his promise, he could believe and trust in God, and then act on that belief. Hope gives us the strength to stand firm in what we believe, and it gives us the strength be obedient to the call to follow.
- Matthew may have had hope that things would be better for him and that his life would be meaningful after all, so he believed Jesus and followed him.
- The synagogue leader had hope that his little girl would live again, and that hope combined with his belief that Jesus could bring her back to life gave him the strength to act – to go to Jesus and bring his problem to him.
- The woman with the hemorrhaging problem had hope that she could live without this problem that had haunted her for 12 long years. That hope, combined with her belief that Jesus could heal her gave her the strength to find Jesus and touch his garment. Notice what Jesus said to her, “Your faith has made you well.”
- Christ died for our sins. It is that hope and belief that gives us the strength to act – to obey the call to follow Jesus.
Faith involves belief that God will act, obedience to God’s call, and hope that God will make us into the people that He created us to be.
We have hope that God will abide in our hearts in the form of the Holy Spirit and will help us live this Christian life, so we come, believing that God will change us from the inside out, and we follow, surrendering our own will to that of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that our lives may reflect his love and so that we may be his instruments of peace, mercy, and love in the world.
True Faith involves belief, obedience or action, and hope.
Have Faith in God.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me in this hour to hear your voice as you call me into a new life with you. Help me to believe your words and to be obedient to your call as I leave behind all the things that don’t really matter and follow you with my whole heart. And help me to have hope for a life full of meaning and full of your grace and presence as I surrender my life to you today. Warm my heart with your Holy Spirit as you help me to trust you completely. In your precious and holy name, I pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.
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