Articles
Seeing And Not Believing
It’s probably happened before, but it’s very rare that all 254 Texas counties would be issued a winter storm warning for the same storm system, may never happen again in our lifetime. It’s equally rare probably that the beach at Galveston would be covered in snow. Yet both just happened, we witnessed it with our own eyes.
Can you imagine, being alive and watching Jesus call a dead Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and this figure wearing burial clothes come walking out after being dead for several days? As those burial strips came off one after the other, people saw Lazarus reappear, alive and well. They just witnessed a miracle. Our deal was just a strange weather event. But even after watching Lazarus walk out, and hearing Jesus tell them to unbind his burial strips, there were people standing there who still didn’t believe in the power of Jesus. Is it any different today?
You know, Jesus and those whom He gave power to to perform miracles, did those miracles to confirm or prove that their message was genuine. Yet, there were those standing there watching Lazarus being resurrected from the dead who still refused to believe, and multitudes today who refuse to believe the story.
In Luke16:19-31. we have a parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man being sentenced to Hell, begged for a drink, but none was found. He begged to go back and warn his family not to wind up in Hell like he had. Abraham said that his family had Moses and the Prophets teaching the Word of God, that they should listen to them. The rich man insisted that they would not listen to those teachers, but if one came back from the dead, he himself as a matter of fact, and warned them, that they would listen. Abraham said ‘no’, that even if one came back from the dead, they still would not believe.
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Today, what will it take to get people to open their eyes and see Jesus? He’s standing holding the door open for now, but a time is coming when that door will be shut for all eternity. No dead relatives will be coming back to warn the unbelievers, that’s our job through teaching the Word of God. I pray they will listen to Jesus and repent. We may never see the Galveston beach covered in snow again, and the unbelievers who continue to reject the Gospel message may never get another day other than today to repent. One thing is abundantly clear in scripture though, we are told plainly that there will be no chances when this life is over to change our hearts.
