“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
(1 Peter 1:8, NIV)
The early Christians had the privilege of seeing Jesus with their own eyes, conversing with Him face to face. Their faith was huge but it benefited from their sight.
There are several places in Scripture, where I am struck by that which is promised to those who believe without having seen Christ. Because that is me. Living in this present time, I have not seen Christ face to face. My faith is based solely on that which I know and experience without sight. It is based on the unseen.
Speaking of believers since the time Christ walked this earth, the New American Commentary states:
Believing is not based on seeing. Seeing will be their portion at the revelation of Jesus Christ. In the meantime the Christian life is marked by believing …. They love Jesus Christ and rejoice in him, even though they have never seen him and do not see him now. Their lives are characterized by a hope that fills the present with love and joy. (New American Commentary, Volume 37, page 70)
Thomas, the disciple, exclaims: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) upon seeing and touching the resurrected Jesus. Thomas had heartfelt belief at this point.
And Jesus responds to him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:29).
Jesus was speaking of generations of believers, yet to come, who would believe in Him solely through the Scriptures and the testimony of others. They would come to believe without ever seeing.
Jesus honored the faith of His disciples.
And He will even more, honor our faith.
For we believe without seeing.
Today I am joining … Testimony Tuesday and Intentional Tuesday and Unite and True Story and #RaRaLinkup and Reflect .
Amen
I believe!
God Bless friend
Beautiful words, Joanne. I so long for the day when our faith becomes sight that I often need the reminder to believe even when I can’t see. Thanks for your encouragement to keep on believin’!! xoxo
Holly, may we believe a little bit more each day. Sight or not 🙂
Hi Joanne … Hebrews 11:1 comes to mind as I visit with you today. Faith … the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Thanks for taking us to His Word.
Linda, you are so right in adding Hebrews 11:1. In the NLT, it reads, “… it [faith] gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” May we live assured!
Joanne, what an encouragement your words are. I am loving having “Believe” as my word of the year, but it’s message has been stretching me recently … in good ways though. Thank you, Joanne, for sharing your heart at #IntentionalTuesday on Intentionally Pursuing. : )
Crystal, like you, I am loving the word “Believe” but finding myself stretched. May we both find our faith growing in the stretching! Have a wonderful vacation!
I just love that scripture, Joanne. It has always encouraged me. And how wonderful/interesting that you’re returning to your word of the year. (Since September’s the new January.) Mine was “rest,” and just this very day I was remembering it! Be blessed, friend!
Betsy, I am glad that you were remembering your word, “rest”. It is amazing how God brings us back to that which He knows we need to focus. I have found myself returning to my word almost weekly as He stretches me to do just that – “Believe”. Be blessed as you rest!
I am reading through the Book of Acts this month, Joanne, and one of the things I love about this book is the passion of the earliest believers and the way they sought His fullness in the midst of the turmoil of their times. And then it challenges me because in the chaos and danger they chose to believe beyond what they saw and in my rather insulated life, I tend to doubt a little to easily.
Great reminder today!
Blessings!
Dawn
I love what you have shared here, Dawn. It’s true, believing is the choice we must make, probably every day. You are right – the early believers sought His fullness in the midst of their times. And they received His fullness. You brought back to mind a verse I have been returning to for about 2 weeks – “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2) I so want to see His deeds renewed in our day. Thank you for sharing!
Blessings!
We must believe that God IS even if we can’t see Him. I think prayer is that way too. Even though we might not see the answer right away we must keep believing that God is working on it. I was reminded of Joshua telling the people that the walls of Jericho WILL come down. He told them to silently march around the wall each day. For six days they did this without seeing a thing happening – – but on day seven after their march, the trumpet blew and the people shouted and the walls fell down. Perhaps we should be silent more as we go about our godly duties, and only shout when the trumpet blows. Just saying. Thanks for the great post shared with us here at Tell me a Story.
Wonderful thoughts here, Hazel. You reminded me of how the angel said to Daniel, “Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard….”. (Daniel 10:12). May we keep on praying & believing even if the answer seems delay. For our God is working on it. So encouraging, Hazel!