WHEN BELIEVING IS TROUBLESOME

WHEN BELIEVING IS TROUBLESOME

Mark 9:14-24

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W. O. Sanders submitted the following letter to The American Magazine.

“I would like to introduce you to one of the lonelie= st and unhappiest individuals on earth. I’m talking about the man who does not see God. I can introduce you to such a man because I myself am one. In introducing myself, you shall have an introduction to the agnostic or skept= ic in your own neighborhood, for he is everywhere in the land. You’ll be surprised to learn= that the agnostic envies your faith in God, your subtle belief in a heaven after life and a blessed assurance that you will meet with your loved ones in an afterlife where there will be neither sadness nor pain. He would give anything to be able = to embrace that faith and be comforted by it.= For him, there is only the grave and the persistence of matter. The agnostic may face life with a = smile and a heroic attitude. He may= put up a brave front but he is not happy. He stands in awe and reverence before the vastness and majesty of the universe, knowing not whence he came, nor why. He is appalled at the stupendousne= ss of space and the infinitude of time, humiliated by the infinite smallness of himself, cognizant of his own frailty, weakness and brevity. Certainly he yearns for a staff on= which to lean. He too carries a cross. For him, this earth is= but a tricky raft adrift in the unfathomable waters of eternity with no horizon in sight.”[1]

Mr. Sanders’ letter reminded me of visitor leaving this church following = an Easter service with tears in his eyes.&nbs= p; He said to me, as he shook my hand, “I wish I could believe in= the resurrection and heaven.” He wanted to believe, but for some reason, could not.

The father of the boy in our scripture lesson cried out, “I believe; help= my unbelief.”

At the outset of this sermon, five points need to be made to lay the foundation for the faith-lessons we will note. The first point is: Th= ere is healthy doubt and there is unhealthy doubt. Healthy doubt is honest. It’s doubt that wants to bel= ieve. W. O. Sanders expressed such doubt= in his letter to The American Magazine= . The man who shook my hands that Easter morning as he was leaving church had healthy doubt. We find it in biblical characters: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Job, John the Baptist, Thomas and others. Often healthy doubt is the launchi= ng pad for faith that is deep and strong.

Unhealthy doubt is rooted in cynicism. = It refuses to believe. It asks questions without seeking answers. A person who has such doubt is pleased with doubt, looks for ways to doubt, and rejoices that things can be questioned.

It’s this kind of doubt that the Bible calls hardheartedness. The Greek word for hardheartedness is skle= rokardia. Sklero is used in the word arteriosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries, and kardia is used in cardiac, as in c= ardiac arrest, meaning the heart is stopped. This cynical doubt can be defined as a spiritual hardening of the arteries, a hardheartedness that can be fatal to faith. The author of Hebrews gives this w= arning: “Today, if you hear his (God’s) voice, do not harden your heart= s as in the rebellion” (3:15).[2]

It’s healthy doubt that will be our focus. You can’t reason with folks who have unhealthy doubt. They’ve given their mind to cynicism.

The second point is that usually when we think of the word “believe,” we l= ink it to intellectual certainty.

In her book, Amazing Grace, Kathle= en Norris has a chapter on belief that begins by reminding us that in its Greek root, the verb “to believe” simply means to give one’s he= art to…”

For many years Kathleen Norris was away from the Church and its faith. Christianity was intellectually frustrating to her to the point that she just set it aside. When she decided to explore the fa= ith again she began visiting with monks at a Benedictine Abbey and was surprised that they seemed so unconcerned about her intellectual frustrations with the faith. One old monk cheerfull= y told her that her doubt was merely the seed of faith, a sign that her faith was alive and ready to grow. He t= old her that if she would keep coming back to worship things would eventually f= all into place.

Not knowing what to believe, Norris made the commitment to worship in church we= ek after week. Sometimes she was= so depressed by the experience that it took her days to recover. But gradually the liturgy began to change her heart. She writes, “If I had to find one word to describe how belief came to take hold in me, it would be ‘repetition’.”

Remember this: The Greek root of “believe” is to give one’s heart to… If we give ourselves to service, t= o the love of neighbor, and to the worship of God, it’s all right if we can’t give an intellectual justification for every teaching of the church. The most important pa= rt of belief is that we continue to worship God, allowing the experiences of wors= hip to weave a tapestry of faith.[3]

The third point is: we all doubt. A fri= end disagrees with me about this. She says, “I don’t doubt, but I wonder at times about some things.” Call it doubt = or wonder; we all experience such. I came across four lines of truth recently by John Ortberg. The lines read:

I believe and I doubt.

I hope and I fear.

I pray and I waver

I ask and I worry.

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Remember the Old Testament story about Abraham and Sarah. They believed God when God told th= em if they would leave their home and travel to an unknown land, God would bless = them with a son. In faith, they be= lieved God, but for years no son came. In fact, Abraham became desperate and fathered a son with a maid servant in th= eir home, with Sarah’s blessing. Then to the astonished couple, God announced they would have a son.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> They didn’t believe the news= , but it happened! We believe and we doubt!

I was sitting in church recently thinking about all the people who have ever lived and those who will live in the future. That’s a lot of folks! Then came the thought: God knows everyone and loves everyone. That’s a big thought! Can you imagine so g= reat a God? Rationally, that’s= more than a human mind can comprehend. Yet, I believe that God does know and love everyone. I have given my heart to this teac= hing.

Just because we all have our moments of doubt or wonder doesn’t mean that = we aren’t faithful followers of Jesus or that the door to heaven is clos= ed for us. What it means is that= we aren’t God; we’re human. Being human, we are limited in so many ways. Believing in God involves us accep= ting our humanity.

The fourth point that needs making is that some find it harder to believe than do others. There are persons who= seem to have no difficulty believing at all, while others want to believe, but can’t wholeheartedly. Y= ou who have trouble believing should not feel guilty or think something is wrong w= ith you.

There are numerous reasons why some have difficulty believing. The father of the sick boy in our scripture lesson probably was reared in a Jewish home. I’m sure he had prayed for G= od to heal his son. Then he heard J= esus say that all things are possible to those who believe. Considering himself to be a believ= er in God, and having prayed, belief and doubt were mingled in his mind when he s= aid, “I believe; help my unbelief.

Across the years, I have had discussions with persons who were reared in a church = or home that taught beliefs that aren’t in line with scientific findings, and they have had trouble believing what the church or home taught them. Some, like the disciple Thomas, de= mand proof that often can’t be given.&nbs= p; Some have trouble believing because of some unresolved emotion such = as grief, anger or guilt. Emotio= ns have a way of clouding belief while accenting confusion. Some resent preachers and others w= ho have tried to make them feel guilty unless they believe certain teachings o= r do certain things. Some have had= life interrupted by a disappointment that broke their heart and have judged God = to be unconcerned, unfair, or even non-existent. Some have done something they thin= k is so grievous that they doubt God will love them. Some have trouble with the picture= of God that is found in the Old Testament – God who destroys people and takes sides in wars. Some thi= nk that to be a Christian means that they have to believe every word in the Bi= ble, and they can’t do that. There are numerous reasons why some have difficulty believing.

To you who have trouble believing, know that God loves you just as God loves t= hose who seem to have no trouble believing.&nbs= p; During Jesus’ earthly ministry he didn’t go around telli= ng people they had to believe this teaching or that teaching. His concern was that people would believe in him. That’s = what matters most!

The fifth p= oint that needs accenting is that the church needs people who have doubts, and doubting people need the church. Jesus was clear about this. <= /span>Just because you don’t believe as some do, you need the church and the chu= rch needs you. It’s importa= nt for us in the church to be patient with those who express doubt. In the brief letter of Jude, the next-to-last book in the New Testament, Jude writes, “Be merciful to those who doubt” (22, NIV).

The disciple Thomas is known as hav= ing been a doubter following Jesus’ resurrection. Yet, when Jesus appeared to Thomas= as the resurrected Christ he didn’t scold Thomas; he loved and needed Th= omas. And there is that occasion at the = close of Matthew’s gospel account when Jesus met the disciples on a mountai= n in Galilee just before Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus’ parting = words to the disciples are known as The G= reat Commission. Matthew wrote= these words about the disciples on that occasion: “When they (meaning the disc= iples) saw Jesus, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” Nevertheless, Jesus gave to all of= them The Great Commission. He sent them into the world to tea= ch, baptize and make disciples – even those who doubted.

The reason why the early Church defined the creeds wasn’t just to come to= a consensus about what Christians believe.&n= bsp; Another reason was to give us an anchor to hold to when we go through times of doubt. I remember a = man who said to me following his father’s funeral service: “I’= ;m glad we said the Apostles’ Creed.&nb= sp; I needed to hear that others believe in the resurrection of the dead. I’ve been wonderi= ng about this recently.”

That’s our foundation for the three faith-lessons we will note. Let’s look at the faith-less= ons.

The first faith-lesson says: Focus on= and exercise what you believe rather than fret over what you don’t believ= e.

There was the occasion when the disciples said to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” He had just tal= ked with them about forgiving persons who had wronged them and told them if a person sinned against them seven times, they should have a forgiving spirit. That’s when they asked Jesus to increase their faith.

Jesus said to them, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could= say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ an= d it would obey you” (Luke 17:5-6). The point is that Jesus didn’t tell them they had to be full of faith to forgive others. They= were to act on what faith they had. A small amount of faith can do great things!

I read about a father who said to his daughter’s fiancée, “= ;You cannot marry my daughter until you have at least $10,000 in the bank.” The daughter was= angry and becoming angrier. Finally= the father realized he might loose his daughter because of what he had said. One night he met with the fianc&ea= cute;e again and asked, “How much have you saved?” The young man answered, $112.18.” The father sa= id, “That is close enough.”

Take the beliefs you have and act on them. Don’t discount what you have because you can’t accept ev= erything. The amazing discovery you will mak= e is that your faith will grow simply by acting on what you do believe.

The second faith-lesson declares that abundant life flows from having faith in = God, centered in Jesus Christ. Jes= us said that he came into the world to give abundant life (John 10:10).

Everyone faces the questions: Who will= be at the center of my life? Will i= t be self or God and others? Peopl= e who fail to address these questions and heed them become very vulnerable to life’s conflicts.

Most of the trouble that we get into happens when we make self the center of our living.= We want to satisfy some desire.&nbs= p; The end result of such satisfaction is dissatisfaction. Conflict is known. We are deceived to think that we c= an handle the conflict, but inevitably it overflows into other relationships a= nd causes damage.

We need Jesus to forgive our sin, but we also need Jesus as a reference point = for living. God the Father sent J= esus into the world in the flesh to deal with struggles we know. The Bible says he was tempted as w= e are, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15). This doesn’t mean that we won’t make decisions that prov= e to have been wrong. What it does= mean is that if we make a decision by faith in Jesus we can live with the decision. We know we have don= e our best and given our best. We c= an get on with life.

But we don’t just need Jesus to forgive our sin and be a reference point = for living; we also need Jesus because Jesus affirms that we are God’s children. He says to us that = we are precious to God. He says to u= s that being God’s children we have a home in heaven. These needed affirmations don̵= 7;t flow from self; they flow from God.

An old Hindu fable tells of an orphaned tiger cub who= was adopted by a herd of goats. T= he goats taught the young tiger to speak their language, imitate their ways, a= nd generally to believe he was a goat himself. Then one day a king tiger came alon= g. All the goats scattered in fear. The young tiger cub was left alone= to confront the king tiger. The = cub was afraid, but also somehow not afraid.

The king tiger asked him what he meant by behaving like a goat, but all the you= ng tiger could do in response was to bleat nervously and take a nibble of gras= s. The king tiger then took the cub to= a pool and forced him to look at their two reflections side by side and draw = his own conclusions. The young ti= ger was puzzled by the resemblance, but still did not understand.

Then the king tiger offered him his first piece of raw meat. At first the young tiger recoiled from the unfamiliar smell and taste of it. Then as he ate more and began to fe= el it warming his blood, the truth gradually became clear to him. Lashing his tail and digging his cl= aws into the ground, he raised his head high and the jungle trembled at the sou= nd of his exultant roar.[4]

He knew what he was.= For the first time, he realized his proper nature and its ways. In Jesus Christ we see ourselves as being God’s children. W= e have a reference point for living. And we have One who loves us so much he forgives us and has a home in heaven for us. That’s abundant lif= e!

Nurture the faith in God you have. Don’t fret that your faith isn’t like someone else’s. There’s abundant life in faith that is centered in Jesus Christ.

The last faith-lesson is the greatest of all.&= nbsp; It is that God believes in us, even when we have difficulty believin= g in God. The Bible is clear in saying that who we are and what we have done doesn’t alter God’s character. God is always God.= Don’t fall into the trap tha= t says because you were unfaithful to God that he has treated you badly. That’s not true!

Fred Craddock tells a simple but wonderful story of a six-year-old boy whose mot= her asked him to stop running through the house because he might stumble and fa= ll and hurt himself or break something. You know what happened: he ran, stu= mbled, fell and broke a vase. His fa= ther saw it all happen, picked him up, dusted him off, and said, “Don̵= 7;t worry about it, son. It’= ;s just a vase.” His mothe= r, however, knelt down and gathered up the shattered pieces and said softly, “It wasn’t just a vase. It was my favorite vase. My mother gave it to me, her mother= gave it to her, and I looked forward to giving it to my children.” She wept, and the little boy wept, = and the mother took him in her arms and hugged him and he hugged her back.= = [5]

That’s the story of the cross. When = we remember that the Greek root of “believe” is to give one’s heart to… we see God the Father and the Son believing in us, even unto death. As the Bible says, the= re is no greater love.

Thus, when you have trouble believing, give yourself to this biblical teaching: God believes in you. God loves you.

Don’t ever forget these three faith-lessons:

v Focus on what you do believe rather than fret over what you don’t believe.

v Remember that abundant life flows from having faith in God.

v Rejoice knowing that when you have trouble believing in God, God believes in you.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Closing Prayer:

Dear God, we remember the words in Timothy’s writing that says Paul fought= the good fight and kept the faith. When faith’s light dims in our soul, encourage us to fight on that it migh= t be said of us when life’s shadows fall, “He or she fought the good fight and kept the faith.” In Jesus’ name, for our sake and the sakes of all who love us, we pray.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Amen!

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; David B. Wilson

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; First United Methodist Church

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Hot Springs, Arkansas

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; July 8, 2007