plain talk

I’ve heard it often before, and I heard it again recently: “If God wants me to believe in him, he should just show himself, give me a sign; then I would know he exists.”

This is a wish that’s centuries old. In fact, in the very presence of Jesus himself, people said something similar. Look at this, from John 10:24-30: 

“The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’

“Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’”

“Tell us plainly,” they said. “I have,” Jesus countered. And he had; he said the words and he did the miracles. But now Jesus takes the time to explain why they just don’t get it: they aren’t part of the group. They aren’t the ones God gifted to Jesus; they weren’t ever meant to be his followers. So no matter how glaringly obvious Jesus made it, they would always doubt.

That’s important to remember because we’re always going to run into people who tell us our religion is just superstitious nonsense. They’ll tell us God doesn’t exist, that church brainwashed us, that we’ve been indoctrinated. They’ll be really convincing, because they’re actually convinced. God seems ridiculous to them.

But the same things that seem foolish to the world, using Paul’s words, seem like plain talk to me. And that’s really reassuring, because that means I’m one of his sheep.