Tuesday 18 February 2014

It's totally normal and really ok to doubt God

I've met a lot of people who respect Christian morals and think Jesus' teaching is great, but find the whole miracle worker resurrection thing to be a little far fetched. Which makes sense because walking on water and rising from the dead and claiming to be God are not exactly normal everyday activities. Everyone I know who claims to be a Christian has had periods of doubt in their life. And sometimes people feel bad about doubting God or doubting the Bible, but doubting and questioning is really healthy. And completely normal.

Take John, Jesus' cousin. It says in the Bible that when Mary (Jesus' mother) and Elizabeth (John's mother) where both pregnant, that John "leaped in her womb" when they were together because he was just seewwww excited to be near Jesus. When John got older he lived in the desert and was pretty much the biggest hippie ever. He "wore clothing made of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey." Honey, yum. Locusts, not yum. And he went around telling people that someone was coming, someone great. He said that the king that Israel had been waiting for was on his way, and that the people should prepare themselves for him. He told them all about Jesus. John baptized all sorts of people, including Jesus himself. He dedicated his entire life to Jesus' mission, even up until his own beheading. So like, he was pretty dedicated. He saw Jesus in the flesh. He baptized him. He was there for the miracles and the preaching. He knew him pretty well.

But get this. Somewhere along the way, John wasn't too sure of it all. He sent messengers to Jesus and he asked him "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:19)

LOL can you imagine Jesus' reaction? His cousin who has spent his whole life telling everyone that Jesus is the son of God and that he will save the world just asked if he's really God, or if they should be expecting someone else to come.

But that's not even the best part.

Mary, mother of Jesus. The girl who had the angel come and say "hey gurl you're going to give birth to the son of God and he's going to save everyone". The woman who watched Jesus grow up, witnessed miracles, knew Jesus better than anybody. Jesus' own mommy. She doubted him.

When Jesus' teaching was gathering crowds and crowds of people and he was stirring up trouble with the religious leaders of the day, Mary and his brothers "went to take charge of him, for they said,"he is out of his mind.""

Mary thought he was crazy! She wanted to stop him before it got too far out of hand. This is Mary. Virgin mother of Jesus Christ.



So, if you doubt God, I don't blame you. Jesus' closest companions doubted his authenticity. God invites us to doubt him. If you never doubt and ask questions, how will you ever gain a deeper understanding? Jesus said "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

So have your doubts and question away, because its not like God is hiding all the answers. He's certainly mysterious, but he wants to be known.

About Me

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I like the outdoors, ice cream, and my pet bunny. I enjoy long walks on the beach and intellectually stimulating conversations. But mostly I'm just a cuddler.