A friend of mine has just such a complaint. He insists that, although, belief in Jesus seems to be the least flawed system around, he just can't accept Jesus and God's Son/God Incarnate or the Bible as God's Word unless God Himself comes down in bodily form, stands in his livingroom and tells him to. Basically, what my friend wants is direct, miraculous proof. Apparently, he saw this happen to a guy in a movie once, and now will have it no other way. His wife, a Christian, has tried talking to him, I've tried talking to him, a myriad of pastors and Christian friends have tried, but he won't budge. If God won't come down and do things his way, he's not playing.
Jesus faced the exact kind of demands while He was here on the earth. Everyone loves to see the miracles, but faith is much less forthcoming once the flair is over than we might think. Apparently the large, one-for-all miracles aren't enough. Now we want something special, just for us. But the fact is, Jesus has already shown us a myriad of miracles--creation, the fulfillment of prophesy, Jesus' life, death and resurrection, the inerrancy of Scripture--all of which can be studied and tested and tried and found to be accurate; however, so many of us still don't beleive. Why? Because it takes more than miracles for most people to develop faith in Christ Jesus. Faith is not simply belief in a set of theological principles; faith is falling in love with a BEING--with Jesus. (See: The Nature of Faith.)
For example, consider this passage:
Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for 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 can 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."
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." (John 10:22-33)
Jesus' disciples, too, asked for a special message or sign from God just for them as evidence of Christ's identity and divine authority:
Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father , and that the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 14: 6-11)
His own brothers needled Him to show off His miracles, but their hearts were not right, either. "But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, 'You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.' For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them, 'The right time for me has not yet come; for you anytime is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.'"
In another instance, of Jesus visiting his hometown, we see this statement: "And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." (Matthew 13:58) Faith was a prerequisite for the performance of miracles, not the result.
Perhaps the most convicting passage on this issue are these words of Jesus as He spoke to His disciples:
"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'" (John 15:22-25)
In other words, Jesus is saying here that if He hadn't come to us, revealed God to us in bodily form and in fulfillement of prophesy and performed miracles among us that were recorded for posterity in Scripture, we could not be held by God to be guilty of our sin because we would not have received any kind of recourse. Now, through Jesus Christ, we have. Salvation has been made abundantly available to us. Our Savior has come. He has died on the cross in our place. He has given us the Truth that will set us free from the bondage of impurity so that we can again become sons of God and enter into His presence as righteous in His sight. However, if we reject belief in Christ and along with it, His offer, we have no excuse for our sinful, impure, lost state. Futhermore, if we hate Jesus--and with Him, God, the Father--it will be purely without reason. The Bible also tells us, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20) (See context.)
According to the biblical stories of miraculous events, the only people who benefited from these miracles--either physically or spiritually--had already welcomed Jesus into their midst through open minds and humble spirits. When miracles were performed, those who had not originally welcomed Christ still did not believe. Miracles alone are simply not enough evidence to convince a skeptic of Christ's divinity and power. (For examples of this, see: Acts 4:15-22, Matthew 11:16-24, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 19:36-40, Luke 10:2-16)
The question, "God, why can't you just come down and show me who you are, yourself?" is a very arrogant one. It is not a question of welcome, but of exclusion. It is not an offer of faith, but a demand for a show. It is not a request from a humble heart, but a demand for control over God. Basically, what is really being said is this: "God, I reject all the ways you have tried to show yourself to mankind and I demand a particular kind of theatrics that is just for me. If you humble yourself to me and do things my way, I might consider believing in you." However, God knows that such a pitiful excuse for faith is no faith at all. For one thing, God has already come down (as Jesus) and shown us Who He is (through His life, His miracles, His death and His resurrection), but many of us continue to reject Him. God knows that one more "show" isn't going to work. What we need is a humble heart and a willingness to ask instead of demand. Here is an example of just such a prayer:
"Dear God, I am having trouble believing in You, in Jesus and in the truth of the Bible. If You and Jesus are one, as the Bible says, please give me the faith to believe. Lead me to the place where I will see Your Truth for myself--in whatever way will speak most swiftly and tenderly to my heart. I don't want to waste any more of my life not knowing the Truth. Unite my heart and my mind as I seek to know You, and protect me from those who would seek to lead me into the bondage of lies. Open my eyes to see what You have already done to show me Who You are and open my heart to understand that it is You Who are leading me toward You. Please don't let my desire for You slip away, but continue to draw me toward closer. Amen."
Do you see the difference of the above prayer to the demand for a performance? The difference is humility. God is not a trained dog who will jump through a firey ring on demand; He is a God of power and love Who has already given us everything--even His life--and now has nothing more to prove. (See: Why Humility is Absolutely Essential.) Ask from your heart, don't demand. And, then, search the Scriptures to see what He has already said. If you're not sure if the Sciptures can be trusted, do a little research into their validity. Some of your questions might even be answered on this site. Leave a comment and ask. I'd be happy to help you find the answers you're looking for. If you are hurt or angry about some issue concerning the Bible or Christianity, please share that with me and we'll deal with it together. But, whatever you do, try to consider your spiritual needs and questions in light of a powerful, all-knowing, holy God and give Him the honor of recognizing these traits when you appraoch Him. He longs to hear from you, but you need to speak to Him and listen to Him with humility or your heart will simply not be capable of understanding His reply.
