Practical Belief

So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. (John 11:41)

I have been observing some of the dynamics swirling around in this story. I have noticed the intense darkness of unbelief and even hostility on the part of some of those present that blended together to create a nearly insurmountable wall of obstacles more difficult to overcome than the stone covering the mouth of the cave where Lazarus lay. I have observed the contrast between the view of reality that Jesus maintained with the more familiar views of reality assumed by His disciples, by His close friends and by His enemies. It is this huge disparity between what is truly real and what is assumed to be real that caused the deep heaviness in the heart of Jesus resulting in His public tears.

Jesus was able to find one person that responded with enough belief to cautiously and tentatively agree with God's perceptions of what was going on, at least to a limited degree. While Martha could not yet push her own imagination very far outside of what seemed possible in her thinking, she was willing to openly make a confession of faith and agree with Jesus enough to provide Him with necessary permission to move ahead in this situation. That was sufficient to let Him proceed although I am certain Jesus longed to find more than just one person who might join Martha in her choice to trust. My heart wonders as I read this what must have been going through the mind of Mary during all of this. But according to the account it was only Martha that actually stepped forward to openly trust Jesus even in the face of seeming impossibilities.

I notice too that nearly all of the dialog in this part of the story is with Martha. Mary comes to repeat Martha's anguished reminder that from their perspective Jesus had failed to respond in time to their desperate request for Him to heal their brother. But throughout this very emotional story it was only Martha who maintained open dialog with Jesus. I don't think this point is insignificant.

But today I notice some other things that I feel are vital for me to learn and internalize from this story. How did Jesus effectively face the enormous mass of unbelief that surrounded Him there? What method did He employ, what disposition did He maintain to overcome and address the darkness that was seeking to suffocate the light of hope and truth that He had come to reveal about God?

Just performing a spectacular miracle is not really too effective as was proven repeatedly throughout the life of Jesus. Only recently He had performed a stunning miracle by healing a man blind from birth. But there was more heated debate than belief generated by that miracle and for those determined to resist what Jesus wanted to convey that miracle had only produced more hostility rather than trust. Upon examination of the gospels it becomes clear that miracles are not the answer that many think they could be. A miracle may be a sign of supernatural power but does not change the direction of the heart. And it is the heart that God is most interested in winning, not a mere acknowledgment that He has more power than we have.

When Jesus arrived at the cave surrounded by people filled with various emotions as well as some with deep skepticism about Jesus Himself He asked them to remove the stone that symbolized the many obstacles that still largely remained in their own hearts. But then how did Jesus proceed from that point? What was the most important thing He could do to deal with the pervading spirit that was set in opposition to Him under these circumstances?

What seems surprising at first but shows up repeatedly throughout the whole Bible is what Jesus does next, the very first thing that comes out of His mouth.

Jesus gives thanks to His Father.

Rather than seeking to change people's minds about Him, Jesus openly demonstrates what real belief looks like. But there is more. Jesus does not just sharpen His focus on gratitude and praise to His Father but He reinforces that by explaining in His prayer why He is doing it publicly. It is because everyone needs to be sure to get the point. In the very next verse Jesus in conversation with His Father states for everyone's benefit who is listening that He wants them to pay particular attention to the fact that He is giving thanks and that He has full assurance that God always hears Him even though nothing has changed yet in their circumstances.

I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me. (verse 42)

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

In the face of overwhelming unbelief blanketing the hearts all in His hearing, Jesus gives thanks in the face of impossibilities. And John recorded this for all those who would struggle to believe for centuries afterwards. Jesus demonstrates explicitly here what it looks like to believe and act out that belief. For the sake of all of us who live in confusion and fear and doubts about God's care and love for us as reflected in the hearts of the people in this story, Jesus Himself makes the ultimate confession of faith in His Father to model to us what real belief/faith looks like from the inside out. I would like to put His expression of faith into my own lingo:

Father, of course I already know You are listening and I personally have no doubt whatsoever that Your caring heart is always intensely interested in everything about my life. There is no question in my heart that You know all about this situation and that You only have good plans for all of us in our pain. But because so many people around me are still questioning whether You really care about them and as a result have deep reservations about trusting Your heart, I am speaking this openly so they can be drawn deeper into the kind of saving trust in You that I enjoy in Your love all the time.

Father, I have been demonstrating a radically different picture of You to these people than what anyone here on earth has assumed You are like. Most find it very hard to reconcile their perceptions of You with how I act and relate to them. Many of them are beginning to appreciate the compassion and kindness and gentleness that I have demonstrated towards them, but they find my example incompatible with how they feel that You relate to them. Because of this many are resisting my statements that You sent me to show them that You feel exactly the same way about them as I have been demonstrating. Some like what they see in me but they find it difficult to bring themselves to believe that God is like me and that You sent me to demonstrate explicitly how You relate to them and how You want them to perceive You.

So Father, in what we are about to do together here to demonstrate even more clearly how great Your love is for all of us – greater than what anyone here has ever dared to imagine – I am publicly thanking You and praising You for who You are and what You are like so people through my words and my demonstration here will be moved to trust You more readily. I want them to learn to praise You in the face of difficulties rather than waiting until things improve to engage in gratitude. Father, I am thanking You now even though externally nothing has changed. In faith we have pushed aside the grave stone, the last physical obstacle that remains in the way of You exhibiting Your love through a glorious exhibition of what You long to do in our lives all the time.

Yes, that is a very long paraphrase of the simple prayer of Jesus in front of Lazarus' tomb. But I see this and more in the compact statement that Jesus made in His words and reflected in the expectant animated glow I am sure could have been seen on His face as He turned His eyes away from the darkness and evidences of death toward the light of heaven and focused on the face of His Father.

Notice that it specifically mentions that Jesus raised His eyes. Again, it is not incidental that these words were included in this narrative. Jesus was modeling how to face difficult situations for each one of us follow His example. He turned His attention away from the problem and lifted His eyes to the One who is far above the limitations of all of our difficulties. Then He deliberately choose to pour out a litany of praise and gratitude to disperse the darkness of unbelief and resistance against the truth about God. He affirmed and reminded everyone listening that God cares, God listens, God is interested. It is vital that we acknowledge these things that so that He may have permission to intervene even more in our lives.

In my persistent search for the true meaning and understanding of the essence of belief that John wanted to convey through his gospel, I am starting to think this may be one of the best places yet that I have come across that make it plain to my own understanding. As I continue to meditate on this story and allow it to increase its impact on my own heart, I see more and more of these vital elements that need to be practiced in my own circumstances if I want to live a life of real faith.

• I need to pay attention to what I allow my eyes and my imagination to feed on and realize how much that impacts my ability to trust the heart of God.
• I need to intentionally engage in much more deliberate gratitude and thanksgiving. I need to cultivate a spirit of praise, to be more expressive in thanksgiving both to God and to others far more than I do.
• I need to take a public stand clearly establishing that I am trusting in God, publicly confessing my intimate relationship with Him without giving in to the intimidation from others who want me to feel ashamed about that.
• And most of all I want to have a heart that ceases to doubt that God's heart is always for me and never against me. I may frequently come under conviction by His Spirit that my actions or thoughts or attitudes are not in harmony with Him. But I need to remember that my malfunctions are not my identity, but that is a lesson very hard for me to embrace even after years of learning otherwise. My true identity and value is only found in perceiving myself through the eyes of the Father who always loves me, listens to me and cares more deeply about me than my mind or heart is even able to grasp.

Father, thank-you again for warming my heart with fresh revelations from Your Word. You are so faithful, and through the example of Your Son that You sent to demonstrate the real truth about You to us, I am seeing again how You want me to relate to You when things seem very dark and unbelief presses in on my heart. I choose to turn my attention and gaze upward, both to avoid the distractions that keep me confused about You and to focus my attention more deliberately on the real truth about who You really are.

Help me to be far more frequent in my expressions of praise for You, to not be intimidated by what others think about me but to confess our intimate relationship openly and make it plain that I am choosing Your truth over the lies about You that swirl all around me. Father, make me a better, clearer channel of the truth about You through the way I treat people, the way I act and speak and communicate in every way. Continue to transform me so that others will be more readily attracted to want to know You because of the joy they will be able to see in my relationship with You.

Father, thank-you for always listening to me even when my feelings don't detect that or reflect that reality. Thank-you for Your faithful love, mercy, kindness and compassion. Fill my life with Your Spirit and make me more reflective of what You are like, for Your reputations sake, Amen.