May 19, 2006
Signs Are Not Enough
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“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” . . . They said to Him, “What sign will You perform?” —John 6:29-30
Film director Woody Allen has been quoted as saying, “If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.”
The reasons people give for not believing God often boil down to something they want God to do to prove Himself. Sadly, in making “to do” lists for God, we miss seeing the countless things He has already done.
Even people who lived near Jesus and who witnessed His miracles asked for more proof. Comparing Jesus to Moses, they asked, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? . . . Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’” (John 6:30-31).
The startling thing about their request is that just one day earlier Jesus had indeed given them bread. He had fed 5,000 of them with the bread from one boy’s lunch!
Had we been in Jesus’ place, we may have replied, “What about the bread I fed you yesterday?” But Jesus used the moment to teach them, “I am the bread of life” (v.35).
Instead of waiting in doubt and disappointment for God to do the one thing we demand of Him, let’s take the time to look at everything God has already done.
I’m afraid you may be disappointed;
God has given us the perfect witness—
Jesus Christ, the One He has anointed. —Hess
Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 7-9; John 6:22-44