September 9, 2020 -- John 8:23 -- Threatening doubts
/He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
John 8:23 English Standard Version
How do we wrestle through the claims of Jesus? We read Scripture and know we are called to believe, but there is so much that is hard to understand. In our passage today Jesus is speaking to “the Jews”—that is shorthand John used to describe the assemblage of interested people, questioning people, skeptics, scholars, and those who wanted to put Him to death. In the face of this He declared Who He Is. Jesus is the One Who has come from the Presence of the Father, to make Him known. His ways are not our ways. His teaching confronts the pagan philosophies and hubris of human understanding.
Some people standing before Him doubted. Is doubt bad? What if you wrestle with it? Admirably those in the crowd who doubted went to Jesus to seek answers to their questions. A few days ago I heard a preacher quote this:
“A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.”
Tim Keller The Reason for God page 17.
Okay, so doubts are like antibodies—but what if I have a bad case of doubt? What if I am feeling sickened by it? There are many Christian leaders and singers recently who have renounced their faith—what happens if my faith crumbles?
Bring your questions to the Spirit of God—ask for answers. Search them out as you get to your knees and ask the Spirit “for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God…So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” I Corinthians 2:10 & 11.)
Know that God welcomes your searching and seeking. He is all-knowing, all wise. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search things out” Proverbs 25:2. Our glorious God has made life fun, interesting, challenging, offering us the joy of discovery.
Find people whose faith you respect and ask your hard questions. Someone who is honest will at times say, “I don’t know the answer to that—let’s search it out!” Be confident of this “we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (I Corinthians 2:12)
Teach others. What you do know about Jesus, about the treasury of all that is ours because of His saving work, teach and proclaim to others. This will increase your faith and confirm what you know.
Spirit of the Living God—Who rejoices to reveal the Truth which is grounded in Jesus Christ—help us. We believe, help us overcome our unbelief and doubts. Give us the faith we need to hold on until understanding catches up to faith. Spirit of Wisdom, keep us attentive to the people in our lives. When a friend or colleague asks a question, perhaps too casually and yet hopefully we can help with it, let us experience the blessing of sharing what we know—not from a place of lofty pride, but in awe-filled humility let us teach so that we may grow up together in this precious faith given to us by the Father’s love, which anchors us in the redeeming work of Jesus. Amen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8FKZIz97AU
