“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Mark 5:36 NIV
Only Believe
A majority of Canadians continue to believe in God, according to the most recent national survey by University of Lethbridge sociologist Dr. Reginald Bibby. Bibby has been charting the God numbers through national surveys from the mid-1970s to December of last year. “God is not faring all that badly in the polls,” says Bibby. “Some 60 per cent of Canadians continue to believe in God and only 15 per cent say they definitely don’t. Those numbers represent a decline in clear-cut believers since the mid-1970s, but show that belief in God is still widespread in Canada.”
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Be very careful listening to those who are not following Jesus. What seems impossible for them is always possible for God. Those who have no faith in God have no hope that there is anything beyond themselves, so when the difficult times come, they offer no hope. This was seen so clearly in an incident in Mark’s Gospel. The daughter of a synagogue leader, Jairus, had passed away as Jesus was making His way to her. The people came to Jairus and said, “Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother the teacher anymore?” To those without faith, death is so final. There is no hope beyond the grave. So, the advice they gave is hopeless. Don’t bother Jesus anymore, your daughter is dead. It’s over. Go home. That may be what the world says, but it isn’t what Jesus says. He turned to Jairus and said, in Mark 5:36: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” The impossible is always possible for Jesus. Even death is not the end. So, don’t be afraid. Trust Jesus.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley