Other Ways of Looking at Things
A couple gospel stories that I see in a different light than they are usually preached are: Jesus rising from the dead, Peter walking on the water and every time Jesus says, "oh you of little faith..."
---Peter started sinking when he was walking on the water. This is true and people usually like to talk about how Peter stopped trusting in Jesus. However, he's the only one who took the risk and got out of the boat, which also makes him the only one who grew in faith, I would argue.
---It seems that people always take the words, "oh you of little faith, why did you doubt" as though being of little faith is a bad thing. This is contrary to the words of the speaker, who is Jesus in case you didn't catch that. In fact, earlier in the gospels Jesus says that, "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed that you can say to this mountain be removed and cast into the sea and it will obey." So clearly being of little faith is not a bad thing. Honestly, if you start thinking you have "big faith," duck because you're about to get whacked upside your head because that would be pride. I think here Jesus is reminding the disciples that, you may have little faith but you still have some. The question is why didn't you use it?
What God wants to say in this that faith is not beyond you if you're a child of God. What it is is listening to that little voice that reminds us that we are in God's hands and those hands are faithful and true. Faith is a gift of God, so why would we ever think that He would criticize us for not having enough? Wouldn't He just give us more if we needed it? You have the faith you need for the situation you are in because God always prepares you for what He puts you through. Trust in Him, hold fast to His word and be diligent to stay that way. Your faith and trust will increase, not because you're so great but because your God will grow and so will your trust in Him.
---Something that struck me about the story of Jesus rising from the dead is that everyone who hasn't seen Jesus yet thinks someone else took the body. It never crosses anyone's mind that He rose from the dead. Then Jesus shows up to the women and they go tell the disciples, who then proceed to continue disbelieving. Then Jesus shows up to the disciples who start believe and tell Thomas who doesn't believe, so on and so forth. Herein lies a lesson for us who desire to spread the gospel.
You can tell people all you want that Jesus has risen from the dead, that He has died for their sins or any other old thing you want to. However, what people need is to see Jesus risen from the dead, that He is alive and well. They don't need a message or some words, no matter how insistent we are; they need Jesus. This doesn't mean you shouldn't tell them what you have seen and heard, but know that if they don't believe they need to see Jesus. This makes prayer all the more necessary because, like the disciples, the first thought in peoples heads when confronted with the gospel is not how much it makes sense, it's foolishness to them. But when people encounter the living Jesus, everything clicks into place. Don't bring people messages and clever catch phrases, bring them Jesus.
Just a few thoughts
gwwitt
---Peter started sinking when he was walking on the water. This is true and people usually like to talk about how Peter stopped trusting in Jesus. However, he's the only one who took the risk and got out of the boat, which also makes him the only one who grew in faith, I would argue.
---It seems that people always take the words, "oh you of little faith, why did you doubt" as though being of little faith is a bad thing. This is contrary to the words of the speaker, who is Jesus in case you didn't catch that. In fact, earlier in the gospels Jesus says that, "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed that you can say to this mountain be removed and cast into the sea and it will obey." So clearly being of little faith is not a bad thing. Honestly, if you start thinking you have "big faith," duck because you're about to get whacked upside your head because that would be pride. I think here Jesus is reminding the disciples that, you may have little faith but you still have some. The question is why didn't you use it?
What God wants to say in this that faith is not beyond you if you're a child of God. What it is is listening to that little voice that reminds us that we are in God's hands and those hands are faithful and true. Faith is a gift of God, so why would we ever think that He would criticize us for not having enough? Wouldn't He just give us more if we needed it? You have the faith you need for the situation you are in because God always prepares you for what He puts you through. Trust in Him, hold fast to His word and be diligent to stay that way. Your faith and trust will increase, not because you're so great but because your God will grow and so will your trust in Him.
---Something that struck me about the story of Jesus rising from the dead is that everyone who hasn't seen Jesus yet thinks someone else took the body. It never crosses anyone's mind that He rose from the dead. Then Jesus shows up to the women and they go tell the disciples, who then proceed to continue disbelieving. Then Jesus shows up to the disciples who start believe and tell Thomas who doesn't believe, so on and so forth. Herein lies a lesson for us who desire to spread the gospel.
You can tell people all you want that Jesus has risen from the dead, that He has died for their sins or any other old thing you want to. However, what people need is to see Jesus risen from the dead, that He is alive and well. They don't need a message or some words, no matter how insistent we are; they need Jesus. This doesn't mean you shouldn't tell them what you have seen and heard, but know that if they don't believe they need to see Jesus. This makes prayer all the more necessary because, like the disciples, the first thought in peoples heads when confronted with the gospel is not how much it makes sense, it's foolishness to them. But when people encounter the living Jesus, everything clicks into place. Don't bring people messages and clever catch phrases, bring them Jesus.
Just a few thoughts
gwwitt