I am a realist. Always have been. I consider the facts, as I understand them, and then act as I think reasonable. It has worked for me all of my life. In fact, I tend to lose patience when others do not approach life this way. You know...like when people pray for snow in June. But, ever since I met Jesus when I was fifteen years old, when assessing the facts, I have been challenged repeatedly to consider another possibility: God's limitless power.
 
One day Jesus was approached by a man whose daughter had just died (Matthew 9:18-26). In spite of the stark reality of the facts of life and, more particularly, of death, he sought out Jesus in the hope of a miracle. All of the evidence pointed to the end. He was probably surrounded by realists who said that there was no reason for hope. He went to Jesus anyway. Falling to his knees, he begged Jesus to come lay His hands on his daughter so that she could live again.
 
Really? Snow...in June?
 
The story ends with Jesus taking the hand of the man's daughter and bringing her back to life. It is moments like this in the Gospels that challenge me to the core. I do not believe for a minute that God wants us to stop thinking when we turn to Him or to check our brains at the hat rack when we go to church. However, as I walk with Christ, I am continually challenged to ask myself whether I have a higher esteem for Jesus' power and ability to act than I have for my own interpretation of the circumstances as I understand them. Since Teresa is so much better at this than I am, I am forever learning from her here. I lean towards declaring the impossible while she seems to delight in considering what is possible with God. It is not that I do not trust God. I just get caught focusing on my summary of the moment (the girl is dead, the mourning has begun) rather than gravitating toward the possibilities found in the love and power of Jesus (He took her by the hand, and the girl arose).

 
Jesus raised the man's daughter because He could, in spite of what people thought. The girl's dad trusted Jesus because of who He was, in spite of what appearances seemed to dictate. And, we are challenged to always think more highly of Jesus' ability than our own capacity to declare what we think possible, in spite of what others might think of us when we do.

 

Faithfully in Christ,

 

Terrell