Holding on to Faith
April 23, 2025
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
(Revelation 1:17-18)
I happened to catch ‘The Case for Christ’ on tv last week. In the segment discussing the Resurrection, they had some ‘on the street’ interviews with folks asking if they believed in a literal resurrection. One man said, “…people don’t come back from the dead – it’s preposterous.” A woman who seemed to be a Christian said, “…I don’t see how it could be true. Maybe they just missed him when they looked inside the tomb or something.”
At first, I scoffed. But then I thought, ‘you know, it IS pretty preposterous. It’s a natural impulse to look for some other explanation.’ And after all, wasn’t that just EXACTLY God’s point? Jesus cleansed lepers, expelled demons, gave sight to men born blind, healed disease, restored paralytics, and raised a few people back to life…and STILL the Jewish leaders claimed it was the work of a demon! I mean, geez, what was it going to take for these hard-hearted religious leaders to believe they had seen a miracle from God? Well, it required just what happened – God raised Jesus from the dead by Himself. No prophet, no smoke and mirrors, only angelic visitors and petrified Roman guards…and an earthquake.
I understand disbelief. I was one of those kids who went to college and became a ‘genius’ who ‘knows everything.’ I was way too cool for religion. The world was cold and hard, and God was a comforting story akin to faeries or Santa Claus. If your wayward prodigal currently believes this, rest assured there is hope. But it might require life throwing some pain their way, and some serious investigation, or both. And in that moment of woe and wondering…Jesus will show up!
Even Jesus’ beloved disciples didn’t believe at first. They were scared and confused. They struggled to understand why Jesus, whom they had believed would be a king, had been crucified. This lack of understanding led to a sense of disappointment and a questioning of their faith. Some were deeply saddened and doubtful about the resurrection, expressing a sense of despair. They also feared further persecution and violence, which added to their sense of hopelessness.
Here’s a quick run-down of ‘Disciples React to Jesus’ Death’:
…but we had hoped…
…They stood still, their faces downcast.
…And he went outside and wept bitterly.
…he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver…
…stood outside the tomb crying.
…with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders…
…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.
And in those moments of woe and wondering…Jesus quite literally showed up!
Faith isn’t easy. It requires believing something that can never be proven. We can know that we know, but we can’t prove it. And some things we won’t ever know on this side of Heaven. It’s hard to make peace with that when we’ve been led by our culture to believe that everything is knowable. Yes, Google has lots of answers, but there’s so much more that even our best and brightest don’t know or understand. Good scientists and philosophers will freely admit this.
Last week I went on about the Big Picture and how Jesus is EVERYTHING. This is what we need to hold onto, even when the world looks dark, crooked and ruined. In our confusion, fear, disappointment and despair we might start to believe the world is irredeemable. It is not. Our mission to make disciples is not hopeless. In our own power, sure, yes, forget it. “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27) [We] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us]. (Philippians 4:13)
And in His kindness, Jesus gave John a vision of the Big Picture in Revelations. It is a vision so wonderful, so profound, so awesome, that we can cling to it and its deep truth for a lifetime:
“Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
(Revelation 1:4-8)
Keeping the faith,
Jen
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