Do we need wonders to believe? ...

Monday, April 28, 2014. What is it that is convincing us to believe in God? What particular peace of knowledge or what type of event or experience is it that makes us blieve in Jesus?

Prove your love !? …

If you have fallen in love with someone - and the other person tells you: I love you. What do you need as a proof that you believe the word? What particular actions of your loved one will convince you? What is it that you are waiting for?

It is an interesting question. Perhaps you reply quickly: you cannot prove love. Or you have very particular ideas about HOW someone shows that he loves you. Perhaps you have events in your mind where someone did NOT show that he loves you. We sometimes think: if he loved me, he would do this or that! But he does not do it, so he probably does not love me. It can be to spent time with someone, for example with kids or a partner.

But of course, love will change our behaviour. When you love someone, you have time for him. You are willing to spend money or what ever it takes to support him or her. Love IS proven, since love includes the wish to do something for those who are loved. There is no doubt that love will show itself.

But love does not necessarily show itself in exactly the way which is expected. There are expectations, often, which are not met by love. We are all different, and a part of this difference is that we have different ways to express love, different ways to approach things and search solutions. Love has its language, and the language is slightly different from person to person.

Wonders? …

Humans are strange, when it comes to trust and love and faith. They often look at faith as if God has to prove himself, and then we believe. We are waiting for God's answer to our prayers. We are waiting for him to show off. We are waiting for wonders and for supply of many things. Let us listen to a fantastic story in the Gospel of John, Chapter 1:

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Nathanael has some intellectual doubts. He knows the scriptures, and he knows that the Messiah is supposed to come from Bethlehem, not from Nazareth - so how can Jesus be the Messiah? But there is more going on in him. When Jesus talks to him about some event under the fig tree, he is converted and believes. This is an element of wonder, which convinces him about the power of Jesus. It is not an element of love here!

Jesus picks this us, and wonders: Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? Humans are strange sometimes. They believe because of power, not because they have a sense for the character of the Lord. They look for superficial things, not for the core. But much greater things happen here - the heaven is opened! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts