Do you believe this? —John 11:26
Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . .” (John 11:27).
Our faith must become intimate, personal. It usually happens as it happened to Martha, through some personal tragedy, some personal loss. It is only in that raw emotional situation that our theology becomes intimate. Our believe in a God in heaven and even in our eventual residence there becomes the personal belief that He is with us now, loving and walking with us on this earth and through these circumstances. It’s the personal relationship that raises the Christian above every believer in every other god.
Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? In intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.
Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier
Nick
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