Overcome unbelief

Ronny learnt from Scripture God takes unbelief very seriously, and so should we! Nothing explains better the dryness unbelief brings in our life than Jesus’ encounter with people in a place of worship (Mark 6:1-6). Most of those listening were astounded, asking: “Where did this man get this wisdom?” Jesus spoke with the authority that only God could possess, so the religious leaders objected when Jesus forgave the sins of the paralysed man and were speechless when Jesus healed him and the man lying motionless on his bed picked up his mat and walked at the command of Jesus.
Even when they saw the miracles of Jesus and were astounded at Jesus’ words of divine wisdom, all these people had every reason to trust Jesus, yet they failed to do so. And what an excuse they gave, “we know who he is, the son of Mary and the brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon and are not his sisters here with us?” Sometimes it appears the common things of life hinder us from believing.
These people saw the externals of Jesus; they might have seen Jesus play on the lawns of Nazareth as a child and grow into adulthood, discussing the Scripture with the religious leaders. They could not see that in Jesus, God incarnate became one of us to show us God’s love and “gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2), revealing the self-sacrificial love of God. Prophet Isaiah calls Jesus a “man of sorrow” and “acquainted with grief.”
Why would people reject God’s outpouring of love to unite humanity with Himself? We must examine ourselves so that “we do not have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (Heb. 3:12:).
Our faith in the living God motivates us to worship, witness, and work for the common good of all humanity created in God’s image and likeness.