John 20:30-31…
Too often, we want more than the Bible seems to deliver. Sometimes, our answer is found with more diligent study. However, many have not realized that God grants us knowledge only on a need to know basis (Deuteronomy 29:29). It is our lack of faith that says to God that we must have more evidence if we are to believe Him and His Word. We have what we need for faith, but what we want is control of our circumstance, even if it means we stay in unbelief.
Charles Spurgeon once gave a sermon illustration about three fools. The first was the ship’s captain who, during a ferocious storm, decides to read an encyclopedia on the nature of Atlantic winds rather than fighting to keep his ship afloat. The second was the wounded soldier who asks the medic all kinds of questions about the gun that fired the bullet rather than asking the physician if he is able to heal him. The third was the religious person who is constantly arguing the subtle philosophical questions about the origin and nature of evil while ignoring the clear and certain truth that Christ’s blood is able to cleanse his sins (Hebrews 9:14). Spurgeon said all three fools had one thing in common: They trifle with subtleties while they ignore certainties.
This insight is as relevant today as it was back then. We have a tendency to miss out on the real meal while choking on the appetizers. This Gospel of John is for those who have never seen the risen Lord. John selected just a few of the many miraculous signs Jesus performed to demonstrate that Jesus is who He claimed to be. There was much more that could be said, but what was written was and is enough.
Don’t spend your time worrying about filling in all the blanks you have about the faith. You’ll learn as you go and grow along the way. The point is about knowing who God is and how to inherit eternal life. As John also wrote, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13).
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