Belief in spiritual things grounded outside our senses

They say that seeing is believing.

It’s our tendency to accept as reality what is tangible; we only want to believe what we can taste, touch, see and smell.

That’s why recent assertions in science and literature debunking Christian beliefs are readily accepted in the mainstream of our society.

Let us consider the skepticism and allow it to strengthen our faith:

•Last week, researchers declared that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.

•A few days ago, a Florida State University scientist claimed that weather patterns in first-century Palestine pointed to the likelihood that Jesus did not really walk on water but instead was standing on a piece of ice.

“If you ask me if I believe someone walked on water, no, I don’t,” researcher Doron Nof told the Reuters news agency. “Maybe somebody walked on the ice – I don’t know.

“I believe that something natural was there that explains it.”

•Author Dan Brown has sold millions of copies of his book, “The Da Vinci Code,” a work of historical fiction that rejects the divinity of Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the dead and even asserts that he married and had children. However fictional, the book and a soon-to-be released movie based on it have left millions misinformed about Christianity.

Misinformed skepticism is hardly a new thing. Just days before Jesus’ crucifixion, the Bible says, widespread unbelief among Jews occurred even after they had seen his miracles: “But despite all the miraculous signs he had done, most of the people did not believe in him. This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: ‘Lord, who has believed our message? To whom will the Lord reveal his saving power?’ ” (John 12:37-38 – NLT).

And there’s the rub. Belief is a divinely given privilege, not something acquired when you and I finally get enough spiritual knowledge on our own or see some empirical evidence of God. The Jews of Jesus’ day saw plenty of miracles and still did not believe.

Likewise, today, people see ample evidence of God. His fingerprints are all over creation and our very lives, whether we acknowledge them or not.

Romans 1:20 tells us that people “can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.”

People reject God and his truth today for the same reasons they did in the Apostle Paul’s day: “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21 – NLT).

Whenever I see a scientific study that takes aim at prayer or the miracles of Jesus, I am reminded what a foolish idea it is to measure God with a yardstick made by man. God is immeasurable and simply cannot be contained or fully explained in our minds.

Only when we approach God as he truly is – a loving creator worthy of our worship – is the darkness and confusion of human reasoning lifted by the light of faith.

If you struggle with this, don’t despair. You’re in good company.

One of Jesus’ disciples, Thomas, doubted the resurrection. Imagine it: Here was a man who had ministered with Jesus, healing the sick, casting out demons, bringing sight to the blind. And still, he struggled to believe.

In fact, it was doubting Thomas who insisted on touching the risen Savior in order to believe what his mind could not accept. Thomas was allowed to touch Jesus’ wounds, and declared him, “My Lord and my God!”

Christ’s response is encouraging. He said to Thomas, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway” (John 20:29 – NLT).

Jesus knew that most of the world would follow in the footsteps of unbelief. That’s why he performed many miracles in front of so many eyewitnesses.

That’s why his tomb is empty even today. It testifies to his resurrection and ascension to heaven – an event witnessed by hundreds firsthand.

Until we believe that Jesus is who the Bible tells us he is, our minds are forever darkened to spiritual truth.

The world tells us that seeing is believing.

Don’t buy it.

God tells us that believing is seeing. Only though belief in Christ can we experience God:

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent … but born of God” (John 1:12-13).

Do you believe?