Why Do You Believe?

John4:46-53 At Caperna-um there was an official whose son was ill. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son,for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him,“Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was living. So he asked them the hour when he began to mend, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live”; and he himself believed, and all his household. 


The official was desperate with worry for his son who was dying. Today we always seem to have hope that the doctor can cure all, but in Jesus time people knew that certain things led to death. Tomorrow is the second anniversary of my wife Marsha passing away. We first heard the word cancer mentioned for Marsha on January 31st in 2009. It was not confirmed to be cancer until February 13th, but I think we both knew this was not going to end wit a healing. This kind of cancer was not one doctors easily deal with. We did not think the doctors were going to be the answer and Marsha was saying from the start that she knew where she was going and she was ready. For that leader his son's healing was the moment of his transformational encounter with Jesus. Marsha and I had encountered Jesus in many different ways over many years. We believed in Him because he had healed our hearts and lives step by step all along the way starting with our personal encounters with him in the fall of 1979.


In the gospels and in my experience it is not always miracles that lead a person to have that transforming encounter. Jesus treats each of us in a unique and personal manner in a unique and personal encounter. Some he called from their boats, one out of a tree, one a woman by a well, one on a Cursillo retreat. Do you believe? Have you had a personal encounter yet? Are you open to one?