On
one occasion Jesus came upon a group arguing vehemently with His disciples.
When the Savior inquired as to the cause of this contention, the father of an
afflicted child stepped forward, saying he had approached Jesus’s disciples for
a blessing for his son, but they were not able to provide it. With the boy
still gnashing his teeth, foaming from the mouth, and thrashing on the ground
in front of them, the father appealed to Jesus with what must have been
last-resort desperation in his voice:
“If thou canst do any
thing,” he said, “have compassion on us, and help us.
“Jesus said unto him,
If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
“And straightway the
father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou
mine unbelief.”
This
man’s initial conviction, by his own admission, is limited. But he has an
urgent, emphatic desire in behalf of his only child. With no other hope remaining, this father
asserts what faith he has and pleads with the Savior of the world, “If thou
canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.”
I can hardly read those words
without weeping. The plural pronoun us is obviously used intentionally.
This man is saying, in effect, “Our whole family
is pleading. Our struggle never ceases. We are exhausted. Our son falls into
the water. He falls into the fire. He is continually in danger, and we are
continually afraid. We don’t know where else to turn. Can you help us?
We will be grateful for anything—a partial blessing, a glimmer of hope,
some small lifting of the burden carried by this boy’s mother every day of her
life.”
“If
thou canst do any thing,” spoken by the father, comes back to him
“If thou canst believe,” spoken by the Master.
“Straightway,”
the scripture says—not slowly nor skeptically nor cynically but
“straightway”—the father cries out in his unvarnished parental pain, “Lord, I
believe; help thou mine unbelief.” In response to new and still partial faith,
Jesus heals the boy, almost literally raising him from the dead, as Mark
describes the incident.
Observation
number one regarding this account is that when facing the challenge of faith,
the father asserts his strength first and only then acknowledges his
limitation. His initial declaration is affirmative and without hesitation:
“Lord, I believe.” I would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this
man! In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have
already won, even if that ground is limited. It was of this very incident, this specific
miracle, that Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye
shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall
remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” The size of your faith or the degree of your
knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith
you do have and the truth you already know.
The
second observation is a variation of the first. When problems come and
questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not
have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a
turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to
pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the
faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt
is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of
faith. It is not! So let us all remember the clear message of this scriptural
account: Be as candid about your questions as you need to be; life is full of
them on one subject or another. But if you and your family want to be healed,
don’t let those questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle.
Hope on.
Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first
and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to
them that believe.
here:
This talk really reminded me to hold fast to the believes that I do have!
Good night dear friends!
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