Posted on by Abe Austin

Seeking Signs- The Exception and the Rule

Signs and Wonders)

Thus far I have emphasized why God would not want to manifest Himself to our physical senses as a way to win our belief in Him. I have pointed out how doing so can reinforce undesirable trends, such as an unwillingness to take a leap of faith or having an over-reliance on sensuous knowledge. These are important realities to understand and accept, as they discourage us from becoming, in the words of Jesus, “an evil and adulterous generation that seeks for a sign,” (Matthew 12:39).

All that being said, this series would not be complete if I did not acknowledge the fact that there are times where God manifests Himself in some miraculous way, and that this has had the fact of converting unbelievers.

One example of this is Elijah calling fire down from heaven to consume an offering, causing the Israelites that had strayed to Baal to cry out, “The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” There was also the day of Pentecost, where the disciples of Jesus spoke in tongues, every man hearing them in their own language, ultimately leading to 3,000 being baptized. There was also the earthquake that rent the doors of the prison where Paul and Silas were being held, leading their jailer to plead for salvation.

Thus, it is undeniable that sometimes God does show His power in incredible miracles, and that it does have the effect of converting unbelievers into His disciples. Given that, why is this not a common occurrence to everyone? Why can we not all count on it in our own lives?

Quieter Means)

Thus far in the series I have given some reason as to reasons why God would not resort to miracles as a general rule, but I do have to acknowledge that these are just speculation. There is no verified scripture that I know of which provides the definitive answer from God. Maybe the souls of those who did receive miracles were uniquely fitted for receiving those signs, maybe God only uses miracles to accelerate initial growth of his people but then relies on more natural means afterward, maybe there are cosmic balances to be considered as to when to show a miracle or not. I simply do not know.

What I do know, though, is that there is a vastly predominant pattern of disciples coming to their faith without miracles. Jesus, when he appeared to doubting Thomas, declared, “because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” (John 20:29). This passage makes clear that while some have believed because of what they were privileged to see, there will be many others who must believe without seeing.

For every tale of a miracle-based testimony, we have countless smaller and simpler accounts as well. Think of the Ethiopian eunuch who was converted simply by having Philip expound the scriptures to him (Acts 8:27-38). There is also Lydia of Thyatira who was convinced only by hearing the teaching of Paul (Acts 16:14-15). Think of Ruth, who converted due to her loyalty to her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:16-17). Or the people of Nineveh, who converted from Jonah’s preaching, even though they never witnessed his encounter with the big fish (Jonah 3). Think of Rahab, who saved the spies of Israel and joined their people, only by hearing the testimony of what the Lord had done in Egypt (Joshua 2). There were the Bereans, who compared Paul’s teachings to the words of the Bible to obtain their conviction (Acts 17:10-12). Think also of Simeon and Anna, who recognized the infant Jesus as their Lord, not by any thunderous sign, but simply by having cultivated a spiritual attunement in their hearts (Luke 2:25-38).

Yes, God can change people by miracles, but for whatever reasons, He usually does not. Far more commonly, He only relies upon spiritual, transcendent witnesses, which we will only secure if we open our hearts and seek them. God does not come to us on our terms; we come to Him on His.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Seeking Signs- Path Before Destination

Finding the Right Approach)

Yesterday I spoke about those who require a sign before they will believe in God or consider changing their lifestyles to fit His commandments. Today I want to point out that God does not just want us to believe in Him, He wants us to come to belief in the right way.

As any teacher knows, it is not enough for a student to have the right answer, but to come by it honestly. If all the teacher wanted was perfect grades, then the best method would be to show the children how to find the answers in the back of the book. Obviously, what is actually wanted is for the child to find the right answer through work and understanding.

It is the same for God. The disbeliever who calls for a sign is trying to peek at the back of the book. He assumes that if God wanted him to believe, then God should take the easiest, most direct route in convincing him. And yes, God does want him to believe, but like the teacher, God knows that belief is only helpful when the child comes to it through work and understanding.

The Flattening of God)

When those that seek signs describe what they want from God, it is manifestations that are perceived by the mortal senses. Writing in the heavens, a booming voice, an earthly visit…these are all things that would convince through sight, hearing, or touch.

Right away, I can see a problem with this. We are already a lopsided people. We rely on our physical senses so much more than our spiritual ones. There are many who only observe the world sensuously. Who doubt that there even is a spiritual domain. Who believe that knowledge can only be obtained by inquiry of the physical senses. If God were to flatten His presentation into this physical domain, it would only reinforce that lopsided view. It would reward us for being overly sensuous. It would affirm that this temporal domain is the only one that matters.

But God exists on so much more than just the temporal domain. He is transcendent and spiritual, and He wants us to meet Him on those planes. He wants to reward us for exercising our spiritual intuition. He wants us to feel Him in our hearts without ever seeing Him with our eyes. He wants us to learn that a spiritual connection is even more real and intimate than a physical one. So yes, God wants us to believe, but He wants us to find that belief in a way that sets us on a journey of rich spiritual discovery.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Seeking Signs- How Far Will You Pursue?

Waste of a Miracle)

There are those that say they will only believe in God if He will show them an irrefutable sign of His existence. They say, “If God is real, and He really cares about having me believe in Him, and He knows me perfectly, then He knows that I need physically observable evidence of Him.” They suggest things like a message written in the stars, or God descending to the earth in all His glory, or a booming voice sounding from heaven. Those would be strong, undeniable proofs of God’s existence, and surely that would bring many more people to accept Him as their Lord, so why not just do that?

To that I say: And what will you do if God does not show up with these great, undeniable signs? Will you continue to pursue the knowledge of Him?

The answer: I will do nothing, and I will pursue no further.

And to that I say: Why would God ever waste His time on someone with that attitude? Why manifest Himself to someone so fickle and disinterested? Frankly, you don’t seem to actually care all that much whether God is real or not. Are you genuinely quivering on the edge of remaking your whole life to follow Him just as soon He shows you a miracle? I find that hard to believe.

Pattern for Belief)

People hear that God wants us to believe in Him, and from that they assume that the onus is on Him to do the convincing. But two things can be true at once. God can both want us to believe in Him and also be perfectly willing to let us go if we don’t care enough to take the first step.

To be clear, I do believe that God pursues on His end, but I also believe He always stops short of making us believe in Him. In my experience, He always requires us to make at least one step in total faith. We have to do something because we believe it is right, not at all sure that it will turn out well, and that is when He appears to us.

If, on the other hand, we see that step before us and say, “no, God, not until you show me a sign,” He will let us go.