True Knowledge

"Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, 'Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.' And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside..." -Luke 8:52-54

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           "Oh come on, Jesus," we say matter-of-factly. "We all know she's dead. Why aren't you mourning?"

Perhaps this is why we don't see miracles. Jesus has to put us outside because we "know" too much. We've seen too much death, too much sickness, too much failure in our lives to believe that God actually desires our good, our perfect completeness in Him. So instead of going to Jesus in our struggles, in the apparent deaths of the dreams He has given us, in our desire to live free from sin, we start the funeral procession.  We mourn the loss of something He wants to resurrect. We don't believe He actually wants us to be fulfilled and to live in victory, and we may even find a smidgen of satisfaction in announcing to Jesus that these things are dead—we know about death. So, even funerals are evidence of faith: faith that something is actually dead. But when Jesus looks, He sees something beyond what we see.  Will I believe Jesus or will I believe experience?

          Oh, how I don't want to have to go outside while Jesus is doing miracles!

          We think we know so much... but true knowledge is believing what Jesus says: "Do not be afraid. Only believe, and she will be made well." What has God promised me that I need to believe Him for? He has given me everything I need for life and godliness; He has given me His Spirit. His kingdom is not in word but in power. I want to believe Him, to be so confident in His character that I can anticipate Him. I want true knowledge: knowledge that sees through the eyes of faith.