So here's the story from Mark's Gospel:
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 "How long has this been happening?" Jesus asked the boy's father.
He replied, "Since he was a little boy.22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can."
23 "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."
24 The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil* spirit. "Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak," he said. "I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!"
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, "He's dead."27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, "Why couldn't we cast out that evil spirit?"
29 Jesus replied, "This kind can be cast out only by prayer.*"
The two key verses, I believe, are 23 and 24. First Jesus says "What do you mean, 'If I can'?Anything is possible if a person believes."
Anything is possible if a person believes.
I'm assuming that means what Jesus said.
So... AIDS can be cured, if a person believes.
High blood pressure? Check. If a person believes.
Bad back? Check. If a person believes.
High sugar? Check. If a person believes.
The key here, according to Jesus (the source of both understanding and the power to fix the problem), is OUR faith, not his ability. OUR faith does the healing, OUR faith is the key, not Jesus' abilities. So then it matters how strong our faith is. For those who believe the time of miracles has passed, this seems to contradict that notion because the time for faith surely has not passed
Second, 24 The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"
I love this sentence. I believe, but please goose how much I believe. Please help me when I begin to slide toward the unbelief portion of the scale. I believe, but I'm slipping. I believe, but I need your assistance. I believe, but ....
This sentence seems to point toward all our faith(s). All of us have a degree of unbelief sewn into our belief systems. So, all of us have needs, faith needs. All of us need a bit of goosing. All of us need a renewal of strength, weekly, daily even. All of us. All.
So, what do we have here?
We have a father who believes enough to go to the source of faith for the healing of his son.
We have a person of faith who understands that the source of healing is the one and only Jesus.
We have a person of faith who understands that the source of healing, the unique man/God Jesus, can help us even with our unbelief. In fact, the unique man/God is the only way to the life, as well.
And the healing takes place.
Under no other circumstances could it have happened. That is the truth that Jesus brings. Somehow this father knew this to be the way.
Anything is indeed possible if we believe.
If we believe, whole lives can be changed.
If we believe, eternal lives will be changed.
If we believe, future lives must be changed.
The father somehow knew this despite Jesus not having taught him this.
Let that truth settle in this morning, then let the truth of that notion change you.
No comments:
Post a Comment