Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
The space around them suffused with a presence of holy goodness so tangible that it felt like liquid, rather than air. An intoxicating radiance danced through their bodies, and goosebumps waved over their skin. Moses in the cleft of the rock, Solomon in the glory filled temple, the apostles atop the Mount of Transfiguration, John deep in an apocalyptic trance–encounters with the glory of God that forged spiritual giants from clay mortals.
Now here I come, as common a duffer as any who lived. Yet, Jesus offers me a blessing in faith that can exceed what Moses and Elijah received. He says it comes of believing without seeing. What those who behold undeniable miracles have is not faith but experience, and yet, faith is what pleases God (Heb. 11:6). He desires that we love him and not his pyrotechnic miracles.
I spoke with the Lord on this theme as I performed one of those unspectacular but precious life tasks—walking my seventeen-month-old grandson in the park. Jesus showed me that, as I love Jaden, God loves me. He demonstrated how I could engage as much of his glory in that small moment as in any Mount Carmel fire from heaven extravaganza. It’s beside the calm waters of a simple life where whispers of God’s truth are heard the loudest.
God’s desire is that my heart would look for encounters with him in each bite of daily bread. By this means, a faith more precious than that of our Bible heroes may yet grow.
Prayer: Lord, give me heroic faith through small things.