Just Believe
When they came back from the tomb, they
told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary
Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told
this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words
seemed to them like nonsense.
– Luke 24:9-11
They didn’t believe the women. The tomb was empty.
Jesus was alive! And they didn’t believe Good News.
Isn’t faith a funny thing? We believe what we can see,
we step forward on the path we know, we reach toward what is certain. But a risen
Christ? Who could believe such a thing?
These men had traveled with Jesus for three years.
They’d heard His words yet failed to understand. How could they believe in
something, in someone, they couldn’t see?
Yet that’s what we ask of unbelievers every day. We offer
hope and a better way and they reject what they can’t see. Are we any
different? We pray and go through the motions yet expect it all to depend on
us. Miracles happen to other people. Maybe. But certainly not to us. For us.
No. We can’t believe in that.
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one
of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other
disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see
the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my
hand into his side, I will not believe.” – John 20:24-25
Are we any different? We claim a faith we don’t live.
We want proof. We want to see Him in our midst, to know He is with us. Do we
really want Him or do we want what He can give us? Are we looking to Him only
for blessings or is it Jesus we truly seek?
We are part of the crowd that welcomed Jesus on His
triumphant return to Jerusalem. Yet we are also part of the crowd that
abandoned Him as He hung on the cross. We didn’t understand it was all for us.
We couldn’t comprehend a love that great, that pure, that perfect. So we walked
away, angry and resentful, over what we didn’t get, what He didn’t do.
When life is good and it seems as though Jesus blessed
us again and again, we are happy to follow Him. We love the mountaintop. We
rejoice in Good News. We proclaim God’s goodness. We are happy, content,
arrogant. Because while we tell the world that “God is good” and “We are so
blessed” what we really mean is that life is going our way. We have made a way
and Jesus has allowed it.
It all changes with the diagnosis. The job loss, the
heartbreak, the betrayal, all rip apart what we believed. We either draw closer
to the life source or pull away, angry at what He has allowed. We deserve
better. We know that deep inside. We are bitter. We no longer believe.
Maybe we never really believed in the first place.
Maybe our belief was centered on ourselves and our own abilities. Maybe it was
all for our glory rather than His. Maybe, just maybe, we were secretly taking
credit for the mountaintop.
He beckons us still.
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and
put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” – John 20:27
Believe. Can we believe when life turns dark and we
don’t see the way? Can we believe when everything we thought we knew lies
shattered at our feet? Can we believe when we don’t see Jesus, can we hold on
to hope when we don’t see the way?
Today is Easter. We celebrate the resurrection. We
proclaim He is alive. We place flowers on the cross and we joyfully celebrate
Jesus. It is easy to see Him when we’re surrounded by the goodness of Easter.
The true test comes when we leave the celebration and
begin the journey. Do we hold tight to the Resurrection when rocks cause us to
stumble and fall? Can we proclaim the Risen Lord when life gets hard and we can’t
seem to find Him in our midst? Can we still believe when the path isn’t of our choosing
and our shattered hearts can’t see the way?
Easter isn’t just a day. It’s hope that walked out of
a tomb and proclaimed life for all who would believe. Do you see Him? Do you
really see Him? Hold tight to that. Jesus is alive! And because He lives, we
can walk confidently into the unknown.
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