Mar 27 - "Hard to Believe"

John 6:41-51
"Then the Pharisees began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
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During the time of Jesus' ministry here on earth, it must have been a pretty exciting to be with Him . Imagine being one of His disciples, walking around with Him, witnessing miracles. So cool! You would be given fresh evidence hour-by-hour, every day, of the fact that you were in the presence of God incarnate.

But, despite the evidence shown repeatedly to people of that time, there were still those who could not believe Jesus was the Messiah. They would hear His words, as we see in today's scripture reading, as say, "Wait a minute. This guy did not 'come down' from heaven! I remember seeing him running around the streets of Nazareth as a little boy. I saw him that one time with his brothers when they let the goats out of the pen and they were running all over town. This man can't be the Messiah!"

Evidence. We seek it every day as a part of the all too cynical people we have become. Maybe it is because there is so much false information out there every day; infomercials making claims which aren't true; celebrities or sports figures lying about their past behavior; business moguls defrauding people of their money or cooking the books. All of these situations create in each of us a demand for the truth as well as a constant sense of doubt. These experiences over time make it harder and harder for us to believe things which are at times, simple truths. Was it the same for the people of Jesus' time? Perhaps.

There was a time in my life when I lost my Faith. I remember distinctly standing outside the funeral for my young cousin, Josh, in utter disbelief that God could allow him to be taken from us. Why did he have to die? A God which would allow this to happen was no God for me. Forget it...I am done. He cannot exist. I decided from that point on that, even though I would try to continue to live my life as a good person, I was not going to put my faith in something that could cause so much pain.

At that point in my life, it seemed there was plenty of evidence which pointed me to the conclusion that God did not exist. Or, at least if He did, that it was something of which I wanted no part. I sought out, through classes in college, other things to believe in; I became a Post-Modernist in the truest sense of the word, believing there was nothing new to be learned, no new thoughts to be had. All things were just a "recycle" of what others had already created or thought up. I decided to live a life without God in it.

The flaw in my approach was, that instead of seeking out evidence in a balanced way, I sought evidence to prove that God did not exist. I looked to the things which confirmed what I had come to believe. By taking this approach, it seemed everything around me supported my belief. It was a long, sad time in my life. Sure, there were plenty of happy times too, but overall, something was definitely missing.

Oddly enough, I don't remember when I started to Believe again. Even as I think about it now, I can't think of a moment or event which moved me back into the loving arms of Christ. (Truth is, I never left them...I just didn't know they were there). I do remember, looking down into the crib of my brand new baby daughter, Maddy, and thinking, "There must be a God. Look at this perfect beauty! Greta and I are so blessed!" I still think this every morning, when I sit on Maddy's bed to wake her up for school.

So, dear friend, is there something keeping you from believing? Are you looking for the wrong type of evidence? What is the thing that does not allow you to open your heart completely? No doubt, it is hard to believe at times. I know this firsthand. But, if you open your eyes and your heart, if you allow yourself to see the evidence around you each day, God will show you, in every thing, that He is with us.