Is it normal human response to the disappointments of life to yearn for something more? Such emotion is engendered in us from our earliest years by those childhood stories where the heroine arrives just in time or the "force" comes to save the day.
Don't we like stories with happy endings because we wish life could be more like that? Why is it that this generation is captivated more than ever before by science fiction and fantasy? Why is it that the motion-picture industry commands more attention in world news than any other variety? The human psyche is looking for more - something that speaks to us of a greater reality.
People of faith are often accused of believing grown-up fairy tales because they have a profound hope in something, actually someone, beyond the purely physical and visible realm. The accusation could be valid, but we must be consistent in the way we apply such thinking.
So many of us do believe in unseen things that have no tangible effect in our daily lives.
Karl Marx said, "Religion is the opiate of the people."
He helped form a legacy that caused millions to die for bloody revolutions that promised heaven on Earth and delivered something well "south" of heaven and, for some, a "hell on Earth".
However, there is some truth found in these words, as religious beliefs alone can be like a mental or emotional morphia that insulates us from reality.
I like the example of Jesus... which is helpful, since I am a Christian pastor.
But what I mean is that He is in complete contrast to your average "founder of religion".
Firstly, He wasn't very "religious". You can tell that from the sort of people He attracted.
He didn't try to please people simply for gain or popularity, but taught some hard truths and made some profound statements.
Then He said, "If you live by these things, you will see the difference in your lives."
We have been so duped into thinking that everything can be explained and understood by science, and anything outside this realm is suspect, that many people see a life of faith as irrelevant and an insult to human intelligence.
Yet, they don't see the world of difference that the Christian faith makes in a believer's life.
When facing a man whose life was emotionally caving in because of the loss of his daughter, Jesus said to him, "Only believe."
In effect, Jesus was saying to the man, "Trust me in this, even though you have no evidence yet."
Having just heard that his daughter had died, it was a big ask for the man to look beyond the present shock of his loss and "only believe".
Jesus wanted to assure him that, by faith, a miracle was already accomplished.
We don't know what the man's response was, but evidently he allowed Jesus to go to his daughter and raise her from death.
"Only believe," you say.
Only believe! It seems that the believing part is what so many struggle with. "You ask me to believe, but in whom? In what? How?" We have been conditioned to expect evidence before we believe... or so it would seem when it comes to belief in God.
"Faith without reason is irrational," we protest. But this, however, is not always the case.
For example, this doesn't always apply when buying consumer products off the shelf.
How often do we take the manufacturer's recommendation at face value? How often do we act on the promoter's promise without having the opportunity to test their claim in reality?
How often do we place blind faith in all manner of exercise equipment that now gathers dust out of the way somewhere because we believed it would make us "trim, taut and terrific"? Why do we allow the scepticism and disillusionment of modern society to condition our thinking in the spiritual realm?
The Bible says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen."
The essence of the spiritual is far removed from the tangible.
He does not expect us to have all the answers, have all the research done, all of our life in order. He simply asks us to believe.
Sadly, so many give up looking for God before they have really started. But He is not lost. He has promised that we will find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts.
Have you ever said, "The church roof would fall in if I ever went there!"; "I would believe, but it's all too confusing"; "Actually, I'm not a religious person anyway."
Jesus didn't say, "I've come to call perfect people." But He did say, "I've come to call sinners."
When I first read that, I was excited.
Finally... I could say with conviction that I was completely qualified for something. How about you? Are you qualified to meet the requirement to follow Jesus? "Only believe."
- Mark Buckle is pastor of Fernhill Church.
