What Do You See?

 May 9, 2023

Jesus said to [Thomas], “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  —John 20:29

These are strange words…counterintuitive even; a blessing for believing without having tangible proof. Why would anyone do that? When I saw a 1936 string bass advertised on eBay, I messaged the seller: “I won’t buy an instrument sight unseen, but I’ll come to you to check it out.” Most of us wouldn’t buy a car without seeing it first. Why would we throw our lot in with a Jesus we haven’t seen in the flesh? And how can doing so bring a blessing?

I’m not sure I can explain it, but I’ve seen the results of believing only in what can be tangibly seen. I can see with my eyes the headlines online, on the news, in the papers. Those pulling the strings of society are increasingly caught up in their own narrative reinforced by echo chambers, and completely devoid of reason. They are drunk with power, which impels them to silence anyone who dares question the “settled wisdom” of the hour. Governmental and bureaucratic overreach continues to creep deeper and deeper into our lives. The current debate over raising the debt limit is ludicrous. To say our government spends money like a drunken sailor is an insult to the drunken sailor. A private citizen who handled his finances as does our government would be jailed. A corporation doing so would be out of business. Yet our “representatives” act as if there are no other options, blindly ignoring history and common sense.

Why would I believe in people like that? How does it make any sense to put my trust in people and institutions so corrupt that all they can do is fight with each other and find new ways to pick our pockets and control our lives? I don’t say this as a political rant, but as a way of explaining the blessing that comes from believing in Jesus even when we can’t see him. The record we have in the Bible is of a Savior who instead of controlling every aspect of our lives, gave his own life to confer freedom upon us. Instead of demanding, he gives…joy, peace, hope, love…the list goes on and on. 

What I see around me in this world doesn’t bless me. It’s what (or better yet…Who) I don’t see that makes my life worth living. Paul’s words in this regard are best: “We walk by faith, not by sight.”—2 Cor. 5:7