DAY 83 - MORE, MORE, MORE
ZACH ATWOOD, YA EVENTS & OPERATIONS TEAM LEAD
“Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, ‘When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?’” John 7:31
If you have a child, if you’ve ever babysat or if you’ve seen any parent interact with their child, I’m sure you’ve experienced the “trail of why” experience. The child will first ask a question, you provide the logical answer, and you think it’s over. It’s not.
“Why is (a) like that?” they ask.
“Because of (x) and (y).” You think you’re good.
“Why?”
“Because (z).”
“Whyyy?” They know what they’re doing.
”I told you, because of (x), (y), and (z)…” You’re losing patience.
”Okay… but WHY???”
”Becuase I said so!” The ultimate adult retort.
When a kid is asking why or questioning something, it’s usually out of an inquisitive nature; but as adults, it sometimes stems from fear and doubt. We can see this happening with Jesus in John 7.
Jesus is doing his thing, healing people, preaching the good news, fulfilling prophecy, etc. Many are believing he is the messiah and God incarnate, but there are still many (specifically priests and Pharisees) who are questioning who he is and what his intentions are.
Jesus had fulfilled the prophecy that many of these people had been studying for years, yet they still struggled in believing He was here. They began taking the prophecies and comparing Jesus’ actions to see if he was truly the messiah, but they created a self-designed scale that always put Jesus at a loss. He was healing people, but was he healing enough people? He was performing miracles left and right, but were they all legit? He was bringing people to God, but was he doing it correctly?
They were splitting hairs in an attempt to justify their doubt; hence why the people around asked the nonbelievers, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” aka “What more proof do you need?!”
Although we are blessed to have the Bible, historical records of Jesus and our own testimony to know He is real and was God in the flesh, we still act like the Pharisees when it comes to the things of Jesus. We overthink and overcomplicate what He has for us:
Jesus answers your Group’s prayer, but was it also just bound to happen in time?
He asks you to take a step of faith, but would he send me without showing me the plan?
He healed someone you know, but maybe it was just a scientific coincidence?
He did (insert something you prayed about), but was it (insert the reason for doubt)?
HOW MUCH MORE PROOF DO WE NEED, YOUNG ADULTS?!
He is an ever-moving, ever-healing, ever-powerful God that does not act because of our desires to be proven correct. Don’t get me wrong, we need to ponder things and test them against the Spirit (1 John 4:1-3), but do we sit back and use “justified” doubts and questioning to stop the action of God in our life? Are you going to take a step toward what He has for you and toward a stronger faith in Him, or are you going to wait for more “proof” that it’s from Him?