“I am finding it difficult to believe all the miracles in the Bible.” [my friend Bill]
Bill (not his real name) spoke honestly and revealed to me over lunch that as he reads the Bible he is finding it difficult to believe some of the miracles he is reading about. I responded by asking him, “Do you mean things like the whale that swallowed Jonah, and Noah and the story of the Ark, with all the animals on board?” He said, “Yes, that is exactly what I am talking about!”
When I asked Bill if there are any miracles that he didn’t have any problem believing, he said, “Oh yeah, I believe the story of Jesus and how Jesus died, was buried and rose again. I believe Jesus died for my sins and that he has forgiven me.”
“That’s great, Bill. Do you believe the first miracle in the Bible? The miracle of God creating all the plants, the animals and sun, moon and stars and finally Adam and Eve?”
“Yes, I believe that too,” he affirmed.
A crucial truth that I presented to Bill was that if we don’t believe the Genesis account of creation, or stories about Noah and the Ark, we will have problems later on believing what Jesus has to say. Why? Because Jesus talked about Noah, and clearly believed in the story of Noah. Jesus, in fact said that before He returns again, the conditions on earth would be much like they were in Noah’s day. If Jesus didn’t get it right about Noah, then how can we trust anything he says?
That made sense to Bill, and he is beginning to start taking God at His Word. That is called faith. Faith begins by “hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17) and faith grows as we continue to look to God for everything, instead of trying to “lean on our own understanding” or natural reasoning (Proverbs 3:5-6).
After Bill confirmed to me that he already believed two of the most important miracles of the Bible, I explained to him that if he believes the first miracle of the Bible–that a powerful God created everything, and the miracle of Jesus dying for our sins, and rising from the dead, then it is quite logical to believe God can do anything. Bill agreed, and once again, like he has been in the habit of doing lately, he goes on his way wearing that great big smile.
