Meditations from Zion

John 8:25
“Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied.

Just what does it take to be convinced of something? I mean, at what point, do we have that “aha” moment?

Many people of Jesus’s time never did “get it.” Why? He told them over and over who He was. He performed miracles. He spoke with authority. He was knowledgeable. He was kind. He was inclusive. He was loving. What was the stumbling block?

And today, if Jesus were to appear in our modern age, what would it take for people to believe? If he did miracles, everyone would focus on debunking them. If he spoke with authority, he would be questioned about his curriculum vitae. If he said he was God, he would be analyzed by a psychiatrist. If he had a television show, he would be critiqued. And, God forbid, what if wasn’t good-looking as politicians and entertainers have learned. Would he need a jingle or a mission statement? Would he need an agent? And what race would be acceptable to the world? Perhaps He would blog first and build a virtual following before He revealed himself?

Belief is a funny thing. It’s not always based on proof. In fact, the primary dimension of belief has nothing at all to do with what is logic or reasonable. Belief happens within. And if a person is cut off from his or her interior self, belief is not possible.

So far, the book of John is all about becoming convinced. “Is he really who he said he was.”

When I became convinced, it was 1979, and although I had lived a very “worldly” life that included lots of drugs, alcohol, sex, and self-absorption, his words reached through the fog and inside I knew. I just knew there was truth and I wanted it.

“… he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” [John 8:23-24]