Do You Have To See It To Believe It?

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are unseen are eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:18

We are human beings, made of flesh and blood. We see, feel, taste, touch and hear to know we are alive. If we cannot use our senses to process something, we often believe it is untrue. In other words, "I've got to see it to believe it."

This reading from Corinthians is the very essence of faith. It is difficult to believe in something that is intangible to us. For this reason, there are probably billions of statues and likenesses of holy figures. People needs something they can hold so they can believe.

Of course, graven images is a topic for another day. Today our Gathering 4 Jesus topic is about faith. Jesus asks us to believe even though we cannot see or feel God. For this reason, God sent his only Son to reach out to us. Much like giving us only one commandment, our loving God realized as human beings we needed something to see, feel, taste, touch and hear.

Jesus was that tangible evidence of God. We know he was here on earth and his words live on for centuries. Time itself is measured by his appearance in this world. Clearly Jesus was a very important person.

Faith is much larger than Jesus' walk on earth. It is about believing in his words and the promise of eternal salvation. This is a concept I struggled with for years, not realizing he will make his presence known simply for asking.

Jesus wants us to talk to him with open hearts. He wants us to believe with the innocence of a child. Here is a clear example of his love when you have faith.

When we moved into our new home, my children were very young. I worked as a freelance merchandiser and mystery shopper to make ends meet. One day I was on the way to a mystery shopping assignment with the kids when my car broke down.

I was completely unfamiliar with the neighborhood and broke down in a very inconvenient location. We were at least a three mile walk from civilization and the car konked out right in the middle of an exit ramp onto a long, winding country road.

The heat was stifling, over 90 degrees. I had no cell phone and little money. My husband would not be home until that evening so nobody would know we were gone. My heart started to sink but I put a smile on my face.

"C'mon guys, everything will work out." I grabbed the water bottles, crackers and a blanket from my car and found a shady spot for us to sit so the heat would not overtake us. It was away from the road, too, so the kids would be safe.

We pray at lot at home, so our next thought was to pray. We all said a prayer to be safe and get home soon. My son, only 3 at the time, added to the prayer, "Please Jesus send a mechanic by our car to fix it."

Sometimes we get impatient with children. Our first reaction might be to let them know, "A mechanic coming by on a country road in the middle of the afternoon is highly unlikely. Let's just pray for something we can count on."

But that is not what Jesus asks of us. He wants us to have blind faith and believe anything is possible. With this in mind, I squelched my adult desires to disbelieve and joined in my son's prayer that a mechanic come to help us. We said "Amen" and quietly sipped our water together for about five minutes.

Only two cars went by and one stopped to let us use their cell phone. I called my SIL, who was the only one at home. She was working two counties away and said she could get to us in about two hours.

I hung up the cell phone and effusively thanked the person who stopped to let me use it. The woman was wearing a business suit and apologized that she was on the way to a meeting or she would give us a ride. I assured her I don't take rides but the use of the phone was exactly what I needed. She gave us additional bottles of water and wished us well.

We sat with the water, knowing we would be there for awhile. Suddenly, a large van pulled up with the words "Mobile Mechanic" written on the side. I read the words aloud and my son starting jumping up and down. "See, Mom, I prayed for mechanic and he's here!"

A man exited the van and asked how we were doing. I explained what happened to my car and he asked me to open the hood. I let him know we were broke and he said it didn't matter. I asked if he was from around the neighborhood and discovered he was friends with a neighbor in my town who owns a restaurant everyone goes to. I felt more comfortable and opened my hood for him to check it out.

In just ten minutes, he fixed the problem for free. It was a minor wiring problem that simply required a bit of expertise. He offered to follow me back to my neighborhood since the ride was 10 miles of vast, empty road with no civilization. He took me to the main road in my town and bid us farewell. The power of my son's prayer was brought to life right before my eyes.

This is what faith is all about. My son believed with all his heart and soul his prayer would be answered and it was. I decided not to be a naysayer and allow him his faith. Sometimes we all need to have the blind belief of a child to realize the presence of Jesus in our lives everyday. That also means allowing others to have their blind faith in every circumstance, no matter how impossible it seems.

Do you have to see it to believe it? Have you had experiences that brought your faith to life? Please feel free to comment.

Have a beautiful, blessed day!