This year’s letter to the residents of earth for 2022 is in part inspired by the movie I Believe. This is your spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it. The premise of the film is that a young boy with atheist parents gets curious as to why his teacher calls Christians fundamentalist.
He gets a copy of the bible from his local book store that he usually buys comics from and starts his own research. After reading about the miracles of Jesus he goes to a local church to ask about them. While there he meets an amputee in a wheelchair and believing the stories he has read he tells the legs to grow back and they do. This is the first in a series of miracles.
What do you believe?
Do you believe miracles only happened in Jesus day but not in our day, ignoring in the Bible where Jesus says “what I did, you will do these things and greater”.
Do you believe you have to invite someone inside a church building for them to be healed?
Do you believe you can only be healed if you are good enough or if it’s God’s will?
What I believe
I believe the church as a whole has done a disservice to the wider community by not living out everyday the truth of the freedom Jesus gave us. If we allowed the truth of the Bible to dictate our actions rather than the experience of life in a broken world we would see miracles everyday.
The faith of a child
The boy in the movie dared to ask questions rather than blindly accept what he was told. Blind faith is not healthy. Ask, research, question, challenge. Then use the new knowledge to improve your life.
He believed because he relied on the truth of the scripture rather than the disappointment of the lives of his parents or teacher. The boy could have gone along with the narrative of his parents or his teacher but he was willing to compare their truth to the source of all truth.
Feelings v Facts
Have you ever felt unloved by God? Has God always loved you?
As important as it is to acknowledge our feelings they should never overrule the truth. I have felt unloved before but the Bible clearly says I have always been loved.
I spent over a decade of living in chronic pain before being miraculously healed. Why did it take so long? That I don’t have an answer to. Why are some I know still not healed? That also I cannot answer. The truth I know regardless of these experiences is that it is always God’s will to set us free. We can’t earn his forgiveness and we can’t earn healing.
Practical Application
So what will you allow to stop you from laying hands on anyone in need and commanding their body to be healed? You are only called to obey. If they aren’t 100% healed instantly it doesn’t change the truth of the Bible or your purpose for living of showing people who Jesus really is.
Are you afraid of what they will think of you if it doesn’t happen? Why is your identity in them rather than the one who created you?
Are you afraid of what they will think of God? I assure you he’s big enough to handle any reaction.
Do you believe only someone who comes to your church for a special healing service can be healed? That wasn’t the person who prayed for me when I got healed despite being at one of those healing services. It was one of the people sitting in the hall, just like me.
My plea to you for the year ahead is live your live free from the brokenness of your past and discover freedom like you have to date, only been able to hope for.
Neville’s previous open letters to the residents of earth