How Important is Faith?

"And He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief." (Mark 6:5-6)

The "there" where Jesus could do no mighty work was Nazareth his home town. They had watched him grow up, and they knew his parents. No doubt they thought, "Hey, he is one of us. He is Mary's and Joseph's boy. He is just a regular guy." How can we expect him to do anything supernatural and miraculous. So suspicious were the home folks that Jesus said, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household."

The small group that came to our hut in West Africa in October of 2008 wanted our team to pray for rain to complete their harvest season. They said they had gone to the religious leader of another world religion in their village and asked him to pray. He had told them, "I can pray for rain, but it may not come for a year or two. The Christians are in town, ask them to pray. God answers their prayers."

I have seen people who do not worship God through Jesus recognize the power in His name. I have seen the new believers in the village of West Africa practice a sincere and childlike faith that is willing to completely trust God. As a result I have seen God send rain in response to prayer in Jesus' name, and send water to a dry well, and send healing to one who is sick again and again.

I have also been in places like this scripture describes where people's hearts are cynical and unbelieving. I have seen people grow hardened and demonstrate an unwillingness to exercise faith that God will work. So how important is this matter of faith?

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." The focus in the scripture is not on how much faith we have, but on what is the object of our faith. Chris Tomlin's song says, "How Great is our God." His lyrics express a statement of that fact, not a question about it. But let me transform it into a question. How great is the God that you worship and serve? Is He worthy of your confidence so that you might invest faith in Him? God chooses to respond to sincere faith that believes He will do what He has promised.

Who is this man?

"What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?" (Matt. 8: 27)

At the beginning of Matthew 8 Jesus heals a man of leprosy. Then a Roman Centurion comes to Jesus in behalf of a servant at home who is paralyzed, and Jesus heals him without even going to the place where the man was bedridden. Shortly after that He heals Peter's mother-in-law who was sick with a fever, and then He delivered many from demons. Because a crowd was closing in on Him, He instructs the disciples to go over to the other side. As He is headed to the boat someone says, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replies, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Another individual says, "Lord, let me first go bury my father." and Jesus says, "Let the dead bury the dead." Then Jesus and His disciples get into a boat to cross to the other side. Jesus lays down and goes to sleep, and presently a storm comes up that is so severe it threatens to sink them. The disciples wake Jesus up and say, "Lord, save us, we are perishing." Jesus rebukes them for their smallness of faith, and then He rebukes the wind and the sea, and there was calm.

The disciples have now seen Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, and rebuke the wind and the sea, and so they ask, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?" In this chapter we see that Jesus exercises authority over disease, over demons, and over the weather. The only variable in this scripture that Jesus allows a freedom of choice to are the people. Some would suggest there are many stories here and we could divide them up. The common thread, however, in my mind is the question, "Who is this man, Jesus?" The wind and the sea obey Him. The demons obey Him. Sickness and disease obeys Him. The only question, the only variable is will we obey Him? Will we trust Him with our lives without the security of a roof over our head, and with the awareness that following Him takes a priority over burying a family member. Does this man Jesus have the right to make unqualified claims on my life? Who we decide He is will determine our respone to Him, I believe. Since He is God, I believe our appropriate response is to follow Him without question or reservation, no matter the cost.