Thoughts for another day 

Jan. 20, 2014.

Today's verse: John 5:36. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further.  Thanks)

On earth, Jesus faced tremendous hostility, not from non-Jews,  there were many in Jerusalem as it was ruled by the Romans, but from Jews itself; that too from the Pharisees and Scribes, those apparently close to things concerning the Law and all things God.  They failed to recognize that in Jesus they were witnessing the greatest event ever and the vast love of God for them, in that He had sent His only begotten Son for their salvation, as foretold through the prophets.  Jesus even hinted of His greatness saying, ‘behold a greater than Jonah is here…a greater than Solomon is here, Mt. 12:41, 42, referring to Himself, but their hardened and blinded minds failed to read the message.

As a result, they scorned Jesus’ works and didn’t consider the power displayed in them as is evident post the miracle Jesus performed just before He uttered our Word for today.  Jesus was persecuted and reviled though they had never seen such miracles before in Israel.  Nobody even sat down to think and say, ‘Hey, I’ve never seen this before; this man is surely from God;’ except the blind man, healed by Jesus, who said, Jn. 9:33, ‘If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.’

What do you think is it different today?  Well, we like to talk of miracles but few acknowledge them and even fewer expect them in their lives.  Our godliness is just a lot of talk but there’s hardly any belief in it.  So I ask how is our witness to Christ going to be, seeing we don’t even believe in His work.  How can we effectively build upon the edifice of Christ seeing that our own foundation in Him is so weak?   Do we really believe in Christ and all that He represents or is our belief but like a water jug with holes in it?  We may be doing a bit of good for God, yet it is not the good that will save us but intense and real belief in Him, that will.  And this belief will also spur us to tend to the lesser ones and spread His Kingdom on earth.