John the Baptist’s doubt about Jesus left a warning to all believers. None is so strong in faith we cannot fall from grace by doubting God.
A simple reason exists for John’s unease. (The full study is in the writer’s book Face to Face With Jesus.) Jesus conducted his ministry in ways foreign to John’s bellicose expectation. Jesus:
In a sentence, where John flung lightning bolts against, Jesus blew kisses at Israel. Therefore, as a “man sent from God”, John 1:16, the Baptist faithfully fulfilled his role and thought Jesus had misread his. As a man sent from God, John forgot the limitations of his humanity. As the Son of Man sent from God, Jesus had only unlimited horizons in his life. So…when the messengers came with John’s question, Jesus kept doing what he personally had been. He didn’t, as lesser men would have, offered just enough negative to pacify John’s doubt. Instead, after providing evidence that he wouldn’t change his emphasis, Jesus issued a challenge to John: blessed is the one who doesn’t find fault with me! Which is always God’s robust challenge to humanity, especially to his people. We KNOW, by previous answers and God’s nature, that he can help us: overcome the problem; remove the obstacle; restore the ill to health; prevent the death of a loved one, etc. Our KNOWLEDGE of God can fail to TRUST God in adversity. Major League pitcher Sam Jones had a curve ball that had batters seeing illusions. We can wonder, when life throws unwelcome curve balls at us, if faith in God is an illusion. No it isn’t. We may say life misbehaves, life throws a tantrum, life takes advantage of our mistakes and sins. But we must never think that God in Christ fails us. That’s the positive lesson Jesus taught John, and teaches us. Always cultivate faith in God—especially in good times, so faith in God can expand in challenging times. We mortals will: make mistakes; develop faulty assumptions; draw wrong conclusions; and allow circumstances to grow questions in our discipleship. We’re always in danger of deserting FAITH for DOUBT. Only if we let the Holy Spirit declare God’s faithfulness in every situation will we be victorious over life. End Part II
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