When I was younger I was so scared to put all of myself into anything. I would sort of, kind of, go into things half-hearted and, if it worked out, great! That went for basically everything in my life, including my relationships with people and God. I was so worried about protecting myself and my emotions that I got cynical about everything, including my relationships with people and with Jesus.
I eventually got to the point where I had to ask myself: if I really trust God with my whole life, how can I be so negative about everything? Jesus’ brother James wrote “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Was I acting on anything I said that I believed? Was my faith in Jesus changing my life in anyway? Did I really believe that God could use me?
1. “He Did Not Do Many Miracles There…”
One of Jesus’ disciples, a guy named Matthew, wrote, “[Jesus] did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” When I first read that, I couldn’t believe it. To give you some context, Matthew is saying that Jesus didn’t do very many miracles in his hometown because the people there didn’t believe that he could. So often in Christian circles, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we are prone to thinking that our actions or our beliefs don’t really affect God. And in a way, they don’t. He will do what He’s going to do regardless of what we choose, but don’t you want to be a part of what God is doing? Don’t you want to be used by God? I know I do.
Let me say it again, Jesus didn’t do very many miracles in his hometown because the people there didn’t really believe that he could. They even got offended at what he was doing!
Let’s choose to believe that God will do miracles. Let’s decide to believe that God really can move. He’s done miracles in the past, he’s doing them now, and he’s going to do continue to do them in the future.
2. “They Will Do Even Greater Things…”
John, another one of Jesus’ disciples, wrote that Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
My thought process goes something like this; …what? Why would Jesus trust us, the very people who tortured and killed him, to do even greater things than what he did when he was here?
In my heart of hearts, I know that I used to, and sometimes still do, believe that God could or would not use me. I thought my sin was so bad I couldn’t be fixed. But look at what Jesus did through Paul, who didn’t have a relationship with Jesus until after Jesus had already gone back to Heaven. Paul literally was hunting down Christians and murdering them. Then Jesus entered the picture and used Paul for amazing things. He was the most influential believer in the history of Christendom. He wrote at least eight books in the New Testament and was the first evangelist in Europe.
If God can use someone like Paul, he can use you and me. I’ve had to make a choice to not let cynicism win and to choose to let God work through me. It’s a scary and unknown path, but I believe that it leads to greater things in life.
3. “I Have Come That You May Have Life…”
John again writes that Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” Here Jesus is talking to some of the ultra-religious people of the day, also known as Pharisees, and telling them that anyone who comes to God through him will be saved. He then calls them thief's who only come to “steal and kill and destroy.” That’s pretty intense! Jesus then says he came “that [we] may have life, and have it to the full.”
Jesus also tells his disciples, “Do not be afraid…for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
Jesus came down to earth so that we could have a full life! By holding on to my insecurities and thereby my cynicism about life I wasn’t letting God work in me to give me the full life that he desires for me. That doesn’t mean he came to give me a life with a lot of money or things. He didn’t come to give me the most comfortable life ever. In fact, he didn’t come to fulfill what I think is a full life. He came to give me a full life in Christ and in his love. That’s better than anything I can imagine.