I’m sure you are familiar with the story of Jonah. However, just in case you aren’t, I’ll give you the quick rundown. Jonah, a prophet, was told to go to Ninevah to tell the people there God was going to destroy them for their evil ways. Jonah ran away, got on a boat, was tossed overboard during a storm, and swallowed by a great fish. While in the fish for three days and nights, Jonah had a change of heart and prayed for a rescue. The fish then spit him up on dry land.
Quite a story, wouldn’t you say? I mean, they use that in Disney movies like Pinocchio and Finding Nemo. It sounds amazing, awesome and maybe unbelievable. I have had a few conversations with people that seem to enjoy this story but don’t necessarily consider it to be fact. They think it is just a great story to teach us about God. While I can certainly understand the sense of awe and the difficulty wrapping your head around it, the stories simply have to be true.
First of all, if you believe God to be the all-powerful, all-knowing, one true King, then why is it so hard to believe that he could do this? How about the other miracles in the Bible, did those happen? Which ones do you believe and which ones are too much to comprehend: Noah’s ark? David and Goliath? The walls of Jericho? Or the parting of the Red Sea?
I believe each of these actually happened. They are great and wonderful examples of the power of God. They serve as illustrations of God’s power, love, mercy, grace and wrath, then and now. If I don’t believe these things to be true, then I am diminishing the power of God to fit into my understanding. I don’t want a God defined by my knowledge or my understanding. I want a God who breaks down barriers and makes all things possible.
If I can’t believe any of the miracles I’ve listed before then how can I believe the biggest miracle of all? That Jesus was crucified for my sins, died, buried, and rose again? If a big fish is too lofty of an idea then that seems impossible to believe. Yet, this one miracle is the foundation for Christianity. If that’s not true, I should just throw my Bible away. After all Paul said, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:14)
I absolutely believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus died and was raised and in doing so took my punishment for the sin in my life. This is the single most important miracle in the Bible, and the key to salvation and should be the hardest miracle to believe. I have seen floods, people survive attacks from animals, and people defeat enemies larger than themselves. I have never seen a dead man come back to life. This isn’t a really sick man made well (although God did that too); this isn’t a false diagnosis, He was pierced through the heart to be sure. This isn’t His heart stopped for 15 minutes and He was brought back with CPR. No. Jesus was dead placed in a tomb and the tomb was sealed. Three days later, too long for a buried alive incident, Jesus moved that stone and walked out. If this is your foundation for faith, which I hope it is, then why can’t you believe the rest?
The last thing I will highlight is this: in 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told “All scripture is God-breathed.” In the 10 commandments we are told not to lie, which clearly marks lying as a sin. So, if God has written the Bible through men, and He has represented the stories of Jonah and others as true when they weren’t then God has lied. This means God has sinned and so unravels every fabric of the Bible. The stories that Jesus tells to teach, He clearly labels them as parables, stories. He does not attempt to represent them as truth. Yet, many of these stories, like the Prodigal Son, are much easier to believe then Jonah and the great fish. So if you are going to misrepresent a story about a big fish that sounds unbelievable, why wouldn’t you continue that trend with a much simpler story about a father’s love for his son?
Personally I love the stories of Jonah, David, Daniel and Moses. I love seeing how God showed up for them. The crazier the story, the more unbelievable the miracle is, the more I love it. It brings me a sense of peace, if God can and will do that for them then I know He can handle anything I will face. I want, no! I need a God that is all-powerful. I need my God to be able to accomplish great things that I cannot. Because, if I can do what He can do, I don’t really need Him, do I? If I pick and choose what miracles I believe then I water down God and I miss out on who God really is. If I worship God, but don’t accept the miracles as truth then I’m worshiping a great story-teller. If that’s all it takes, I know a lot of great story-tellers I can see and talk to. Why not worship them? What sets God apart from a just a great story-teller is His ability to not just say the unbelievable but also to do the unbelievable. So you don’t get God without all the miracles.
They are not just stories. They are truth! Now, just imagine what could the God that did all those miracles do in your life? Excited yet? Good, you should be.
Thanks Nick. Enjoyed your first blog. Just a reminder that we have to turn our troubles over to God & he will guide us if we listen.
Thank you. It has taken me a long time to gather the courage to share the things I write. So it is great to know that people are enjoying it.
Grandpa Schroeder would be so proud that you are writing and sharing about Jesus. He loved writing letters to the editor, sermons, journals, devotions, etc…basically he was a blogger before there were blogs. So you’re carrying on that awesome Godly legacy! Love you little brother?
Thank you so much!!! I didn’t make that connection before, but it is very cool to think that I am carrying on with something he did. Gives me a new sense of pride. You just made my day. I love you too!