March 2015
How many
Bibles do you have in your house? Most
houses have acquired some: the Bible presented at school, an old family Bible,
a baptism or wedding present. And, of
course, Bibles are available free on-line.
So why aren’t more people convinced that Jesus is all-important?
Surely
(some would say) if God really wants us to believe in his Son he’ll have to do
better than give us a dusty old book!
Could he arrange for some writing in the sky, personally addressed to
me? Or answer my prayers in a miraculous
way? If his Son was willing to put in an
appearance in the 1st Century could he perhaps show up again in the
21st Century, here in England?
Or could God send someone back from the dead to give us some clarity
about the life to come?
Jesus once told
a story about a man who, having failed to prepare to meet his maker, ends up in
hell (Luke 16). When he realizes there
is no way out for him, he starts to worry about his five brothers who, he
suspects, are going to end up in the same place. Could someone be sent back from the dead to warn
them? When he is told that his brothers
can easily read their Bibles he makes a final plea: “No! But if someone from the dead goes to them,
they will repent.”
How many
people today feel the same? Miracles
done in front of other people or in a past age don’t count; I demand evidence
individually presented to me before I will believe.
The punchline
in Jesus’ story is striking: If the five brothers “do not listen to Moses and
the Prophets (ie the part of the Bible that they already have) they will not be
convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
The irony is that Jesus knows that he himself will rise from the dead
and be seen by hundreds of eyewitnesses, yet many will still refuse to trust in
him.
Because the
Bible can be a difficult book to understand we regularly offer opportunities to
join a small group where its message is clearly explained and questions can be
asked. If you ring or e-mail me I will
happily tell you when the next group is getting together.
Sincerely
Graham
Burrows