Believe It!

“They refused to believe it.” Mark 16:11

When Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a child, he would listen to his father talk long into the night about the disasters befalling their beloved country Russia. Always his father would end with, “Men have forgotten God, that’s why this has all happened.” 

In 1983, the Nobel Laureate and Russian dissident gave a talk and explained how an atheistic mindset and a turning away from Christian morals led to the Russian revolution that murdered 60 million of his people and the communist takeover. We see that in our country today there is a growing secularization, a turning away from God, faith and right reasoning. This should be a warning for us all. 

In Jesus’ time, there were people who believed in Him and there were people who ridiculed Him, sold Him, abused Him and crucified Him. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, wrote that, “God is dead”, and was widely quoted. Yes, Jesus died on the cross, but He lives. 

Do we have to see to believe like Thomas and the other disciples? When Jesus walked the streets of Nazareth, and there was no faith, Jesus did none of His miracles. I prefer to believe even if I do not see Jesus in the flesh. In my 61 years of existence, I can attest that God is alive, and cares about every little detail of my life. He walks with me in my joy and in my challenges. He shows that His promises are true, that in my weakness He makes a way where there is none. To me, every day is a miracle when I am aware of God’s saving grace.