"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Faith Theme

Do you ever notice how important faith is to Jesus? We've finished eight chapters in Matthew already and the faith theme appears quite regularly. Some seem to have great faith, others little faith, while still others fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. While reading He Still Moves Stones last week, I greatly enjoyed a passage from the Gospel According to Mark that Max Lucado spoke about in some detail. I won't quote extensively from the chapter like I've done in past posts, but I wanted to share the part that stuck in my mind. It seems so simple and you all will maybe be unimpressed, but it's like God used a particular phrase that evening to encourage me. I even jotted these five words on the wall calendar hanging nearby.

Don't be afraid - just believe.

See, nothing earth-shattering or new. But five simple words God used to encourage me. He knows how His Susie tends towards fearful thoughts.




Mark 5 tells the story of a synagogue ruler coming to Jesus because his little daughter is sick. He wanted Jesus to come to his house and touch her so she would be healed. Visualize this if you will.

22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."

Jesus agreed and started towards Jairus' house. On the way Jesus dealt with a woman with a bleeding disorder in need of healing. While talking with her, bad news came from Jairus' household.

"Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"

Horrors! Jesus was too late! Maybe if Jairus had simply asked Jesus to heal his daughter from afar (as the Roman centurion suggested in reference to his ailing servant), she would have been saved, but now, too late, too late. Jesus can heal the sick, yes. He did it all over the region. But raising the dead is a whole other category!

Isn't it?

This is what Max Lucado made a big deal out of in his book. OK..maybe he didn't make as huge a deal as I'm remembering, but it just stuck out to me so much it seemed huge at the time. Ready for it?

36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."


Aha! Jesus ignored human reality - the girl already died - and encouraged Jairus to believe!


Why? Why not put your arm around Jairus, comfort and cry with him? Tell him you are sorry the illness took his daughter before you had time to visit the house and heal her? Why tell him to ignore this bad news and believe? Did Jesus think these men couldn't tell when someone stopped breathing? When someone's heart stopped pumping life-sustaining blood around the body? When the body turned cold and gray as life departed? Why ignore the facts on the ground and believe something so far-fetched and unrealistic?


For some reason I just loved those five words. I love that Jesus urged Jairus to not succumb to the bad news, the "reality" on the ground, but to believe God for great things. To believe God for something out of the ordinary. For something only God can do.


So whatever situations you are facing, don't look at your circumstances and yield to the hopelessness surrounding you. Remember that God is bigger than your circumstances. He is greater than your struggles, your storms. I encourage you, "Don't be afraid; just believe."


By the way, when Jesus got to Jairus' house the mourners were already in place wailing loudly. Jesus told them the girl was sleeping and they laughed at him. But, I think you know by now what happened. Let's just say the little girl laughed again. And I'm sure Jairus did too! :-)

"Without faith it is impossible to please God..."
~ Hebrews 11:6

15 comments:

Suroor said...

Suze, I have an honest question - do Christians pray to God, the father or to Jesus, the Lord? All the masses and sermons I have attended always end with a prayer addressed to God, the Father and never to Jesus. I know "in Jesus' name I pray" but that is not addressing Jesus, is it? I'm not talking about Catholic prayers.

I was having this discussion with someone on a blog and this guy was persistent that Christians pray to Jesus.

Jesus clearly taught his disciples how pray and to whom to pray when he said "After this manner pray ye - "Our Father which art in Heaven..." He was very clear that people must pray to the God, the Father.

So what does my question have to do with your post on Faith? I am trying to understand how different is your Faith from mine :)

Susanne said...

Suroor, I like your questions. :) Well, I don't remember being instructed how I must pray. Must sound horrid to a Muslim, but we were always taught to talk to God like a loving father and a friend.

As for prayers I've heard anything from "God" to "Heavenly Father" to "Dear Jesus" to "Lord." Didn't Jesus use Abba which is Father or some say Daddy or Papa? I think personally any are fine especially if you are Trinitarian Christian and believe as Jesus said in John, "I and my Father are one." and "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father."

But you are right about the model prayer that Jesus gave.

Btw, there are also prayer/songs to the Holy Spirit. "Come, Holy Spirit, I need You. Come, sweet Spirit, I pray. Come in thy strength and thy power. Come in thine own gentle way."

Here is another short one -- it's a minute. See what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShhUWVKZnEk&feature=related


This is one of my FAVORITE song/prayers. It nearly always makes me cry and I have prayed this for myself and those I love. Please see if you agree that it's a lovely prayer. :)

My favorite -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjhOHs5CdkY&feature=related

but if you want to or need to read the lyrics, go here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYdQa6Cprc

Suroor said...

Thank you for your comment, Susanne.

I guess I was wrong then. I think we all learn from each other and in the absence of a 'standard' manner of prayer we just copy the ones we see praying. I never saw anyone praying to Jesus so if I were to learn from them I would learn to pray only to God.

But I also feel that if Jesus set a standard then I can't justify any other alternate way. What greater example to follow than Jesus himself?

You know what I mean? I don't mean to offend; I'm just thinking aloud.

Plus, I shudder when I read Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I don't know. This is what I *think*.

Susanne said...

And I like when you share what you think! I remember discussing those verses about this time last month. :) Yes, they are shudder-worthy!

Other Christians may disagree with the examples I shared, but I was telling you how I hear people pray. For a person who believes Jesus is God, I don't have a problem with them praying to Jesus as God. It's like another name for God in a sense. "God" is just a word. So is "Lord, "Adonai, "Jehovah," "Allah" and so forth. But I can understand where YOU are coming from as one who doesn't say Jesus is equal with God. OF COURSE you should NOT pray to Jesus! That would be wrong for you! I'd never pray to Peter or Paul or John or Mohammed! :)

Suroor said...

My problem is I don't think Jesus was "just an ordinary prophet" either. He wasn't a common man. He wasn't God, IMHO, but he wasn't just a common prophet either. Therefore, the more I study about him the more I discover and the more I want to follow him properly.

Thus, I have faith in him but not as God. That is why I asked you this question. I think it is making sense to me now.

I totally agree with your post. And this post has made me understand that Unitarian Christians had/have just as much faith in Jesus as Trinitarian Christians.

Thank you so much for this post!

Susanne said...

If you ever want to share more about what you just said, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Either here or on your blog or by e-mail. Really.

Because I don't understand how my post and comments have made you think:

"And this post has made me understand that Unitarian Christians had/have just as much faith in Jesus as Trinitarian Christians. "

so I'd like to know your thoughts! :)


Have you ever tried looking up passages in the OT to see if they shed light on anything concerning Jesus? I find it interesting that Jesus refers to himself as the "son of man" which I've read is a Messianic term used in Daniel, I believe. Anyway, I'd enjoy reading a post on your thoughts concerning these issues.

I've read books by men who set out to disprove Christianity and Jesus and ended up following him as their Savior and Lord, but I'm sure you could counter with folks who've done the same thing with Islam or Judaism or other religions so . . :)

By the way, I really wanted you to hear the prayer of the 2nd video I posted yesterday. I don't think you'd find it offensive since it's addressed only to "Lord" and not Jesus or anyone else.

Suroor said...

Susanne, you began by asking “Do you ever notice how important faith is to Jesus? We've finished eight chapters in Matthew already and the faith theme appears quite regularly. Some seem to have great faith, others little faith, while still others fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.”

When I read that I thought you are not addressing me because I’m not Christian. But it felt like I *should* have been addressed as a self-proclaimed “Jesusian.”

Therefore I asked you the question about prayer because I wanted to see how different I am from a Christian and I am different, very different. Even with the immense love, respect and reverence I have for Jesus; even with how much I want to follow him gladly; even with some small sacrifices I have made in my life for him; even with the fact I think he was not ordinary, I can’t pray to him or even through him.

And so I thought if I follow *his* instructions and pray to God and not him, what am I doing that is wrong? If I have this genuine fear that praying to anyone other than God, even to a perfect man like him, would not only disappoint God, it would even hurt Jesus, then am I wrong? To be told ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ is so hurtful. It would really hurt me if someone I loved so much said that to me. It would completely break my heart. That is my fear.

And I thought – I know Jesus because of God, not the other way around. If God had wished He could have not brought Jesus into this world. Then what? How would I have prayed to Him without Jesus? Jesus came to show us how to worship Him and how to be good and kind; he didn’t come to be worshiped himself; he never preached that. That is what I think, at least.

So I felt like perhaps this post is not addressing me. But I re-read the first paragraph again and “Some seem to have great faith, others little faith, while still others fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum” made me realise that even if I don’t accept it, I do have great faith in Jesus. And suddenly I felt like the only words addressing me in this post were, “Don't be afraid; just believe.”

I’m NOT disproving Christianity or Jesus because I believe in Jesus. My belief is different from yours or someone else’s, but each one of us believes in him - all Christians and all Muslims especially the Sufis. I do believe. And now I’m not afraid.

I also wanted to add that I read the NT before the OT and my belief in Jesus as the Messiah was not created or based on the OT. I actually don’t believe the OT is the one that was revealed to Moses and honestly I'm not a fan of OT at all. There are studies done to prove that OT was written much later. Plus there are also studies that say that the passages in NT which fulfill the OT prophecies about the Messiah were *created* to fit the descriptions like virgin birth etc. The important thing to ask is “if the OT said nothing about Jesus, would I not believe in him as the Son of Man?” And I feel I would still believe. So what do I have to be afraid of?

PS: I will listen to the videos; YouTube is down in my area at the moment, that is why I haven’t been able to listen.

Susanne said...

Suroor, thank you for that heartfelt and thorough comment.

First as to those you felt I was addressing, I never thought “Do you ever notice how important faith is to Jesus?" was exclusive to you or other nonChristians. It was a general observation on my part that FAITH was important. Even if you don't think "faith in Jesus," what about "faith in God working through Jesus" or simply that GOD can do great things by our faith? After all I think you believe God did do great miracles through Jesus, don't you? Even if you do not think Jesus is God, you believe God used Jesus as His hands, His feet, His servant while on earth, right? God allowed Jesus to do great miracles for those who had the faith to believe. This is what I meant. Not faith in the eternal saving power of Jesus. So I included you - at least in my own mind. :)

I agree hearing "I never knew you" would be hurtful. In my comment to Sarah last month, I admitted this used to scare me somewhat. To think that Jesus would say he never knew me...was just heartbreaking.

Suroor, I know you love Jesus and you worship God and pray to God. I think you are on the right path. I know my opinion doesn't really matter, but it's just how I think. Let's say Jesus is not God and his death and resurrection didn't happen as Christians believe. Let's say that whole "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" thing is made up. My question would be to you: who is your savior? Who are you trusting for your salvation? Because whether or not you believe Jesus is God or only God is God, do you believe YOU are able to save yourself through good works or do you have another means to salvation? If we get to heaven and God says, "Why should I allow you into my heaven?" what would we say? Really, what?

Because to me that is the main question especially right now. Whether or not you accept JESUS as Savior is not such a big deal at present. If this is true and important to God, I strongly feel HE will reveal it to you. (And maybe if I am wrong in believing this, He will show me the shirk in my own life!)

So for both of us, maybe we should consider: are we saving ourselves by our good works OR are we doing good works BECAUSE God has saved us and is working through us to accomplish His will? Or is it something else entirely? Is Suroor/Susanne the Savior or is God?

Can we save ourselves? Maybe we should focus on this for awhile and ask God for wisdom in this matter. Are we "good enough" on our own or does God need to step in?

Those are just a few things that came to mind. I hope they do not sound harsh as they were written with love.

I understand what you mean about not liking the OT. There are parts I really don't like, but there are other parts that teach wonderful lessons. And really there are many beautiful parts. I love Ezekiel where God talks about being a loving shepherd and holding the lambs close to His heart. The imagery is just beautiful and makes me feel cared for and loved.


No problem about the YouTube video. I hope I didn't sound pressuring. I know not everyone likes Christian music videos, but I think that prayer is a great one! :)

Thanks for your wonderful comment. Lots of honest thoughts! I appreciate that so much!

Suroor said...

Susanne, wonderful comment! Thanks.

I think when one says Grace Vs Deeds, one is NOT talking from what one 'feels' but from what they are taught. Imagine a child who grew up in a jungle, who has no language. How will you explain Grace Vs Deeds to that child?

We are talking about these issues in our 30s when we have matured and our mindsets have matured as well. To even listen to the call of God is difficult at this age, hence Paul's immediate belief in Jesus was a miracle.

Someone who grew up in Christianity will not understand why a non-Christian does not understand God's sacrifice of Jesus no matter how much anyone tries to explain it.

I think the need for a saviour is important. And I think God is the Saviour and that He saves us everyday. I don't have to believe He is doing it through the Holy Ghost. Or I can call God's work as the Holy Ghost. But will I pray to God or His works? Thus I don't pray to the Holy Ghost.

Similarly, He saved us through His many agents. Jesus being the most powerful of them. To Muslims, Muhammad is also part of those people. If Arabia is monotheistic today, it is because of him after all so there is that argument. So He saved us through His agents. Again will I pray to those agents or to God? so even the MOST powerful agent, Jesus, is but an agent. Because of him there are billions of Christians, because of him exists the Belief and Faith. But does it mean I should begin to pray to him? And what if he turns around and tells me that just for doing that that he never knew me?! My life, 'works' and faith would all be wasted.

I know that Muslims say that Christians commit shirk and I also understand how Christians explain Unity through Trinity which makes sense to billions of Christians. I'm not greater than those billions of Christians and I won't claim that. But if I don't pray to Jesus or think he is God, it is not to annoy him but to make him happy with him because I'm only following his words blindly.

I hope I'm making sense because in my mind I'm very clear but I know how confusing I really am :D

Susanne said...

Suroor, yes, you made sense and I appreciated your comment very much! You explained well. For the sake of argument (grin), discussion and perhaps reflection, I will reply to a couple things you said and then if you want to counter me, that would be fantastic! I love this way of learning. :)

"Imagine a child who grew up in a jungle, who has no language. How will you explain Grace Vs Deeds to that child?"

See, I truly believe I could do this without words. By my actions. Loving that child no matter what she did, no matter what she offered or failed to offer. And maybe God knew we didn't understand His heavenly language (we were that jungle child without a [heavenly] language) so He sent someone to tell us in "human terms." Just like for a child with no language, I'd have to convey grace and unconditional love through my actions. For us Jesus is that expression of God -- He is the WORD. "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father," he claimed. So the Word or expression of God came to earth so we could learn about God. Perhaps you will, at least, see how Christians view the Word by my example?

"Someone who grew up in Christianity will not understand why a non-Christian does not understand God's sacrifice of Jesus no matter how much anyone tries to explain it."

I totally agree! It's only the Spirit of God that reveals this to *any* of us. This is why you have people "born Christian" who deny this. They don't understand it either even though they grew up with this idea. I believe it's the work of GOD in people's lives that reveal these things to them. Perhaps I am wrong, but the Bible teaches how we are all spiritually blind and basically dead until GOD gives us life and opens our eyes to His truth.

"I think the need for a saviour is important. And I think God is the Saviour and that He saves us everyday. I don't have to believe He is doing it through the Holy Ghost. Or I can call God's work as the Holy Ghost. But will I pray to God or His works? Thus I don't pray to the Holy Ghost."

Yes, I understand what you are saying. However, we don't feel the Holy Spirit is a "work" necessarily. It's a part of God - the Spirit of the Living God - working in us. But I get your point about praying to God's works.

"But if I don't pray to Jesus or think he is God, it is not to annoy him but to make him happy with him because I'm only following his words blindly."

And I think that is very sweet and I truly love that about you!

Thanks for sharing your comment. I've greatly enjoyed the discussion! :)

Suroor said...

"See, I truly believe I could do this without words. By my actions. Loving that child no matter what she did, no matter what she offered or failed to offer."

See now we can never agree! Sorry but it isn't gonna work!

The child I was imagining is a boy!

:D

Suroor said...

Spirit of the living God is beautiful. Loved it! Fill me…

Oh I have heard Shine on Us – my daughter is part of her school’s church choir and she sings it all the time :D But this sounds much better, believe me!

Susanne said...

Ha! A boy?! *hmph*

I'd love to hear your daughter's choir sing that song. It's a lovely prayer, I think. :)

Suroor said...

OK I'll try to record it sometime and send it to you. She'd be honoured if you heard her. They all call you Aunt Susie!

Susanne said...

Aw, Aunt Susie?! How sweet! <3 I didn't even know they knew of me! Tell them to pray for Aunt Susie. :)

I'd love to hear your daughter if you want to send that to me. Sounds adorable!