Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Crushed Legs, Hardened Heart

There were plenty of signs and clear statements as to the identity of Jesus as the promised Messiah. Jesus refers to three of these in this passage. 1) the Father bears witness(John 5:32) 2)John the Baptist bears witness 3) Jesus' works (miracles) bear witness. Yet many of those who saw and heard these things did not believe.

I knew a man who was involved in a extremely serious motorcycle accident. Every bone in his legs were crushed by an automobile. He was told he would never walk again. He made a deal with God that if God would heal him, he would be a faithful Christian.

God healed him. He walked again, with no cane, no crutch, and no pain. Did he keep his promise? Unfortunately for him, no.

We can never serve God on our own strength. We must trust him for the faith to believe (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). If we try to do it on our own or out of obligation, we will indeed fail.