There are so many illusions that can fool the eye. Magicians who perform on stage or on television are masters at fooling people into thinking they see something that is not real. We can try to trust our own eyes and think that we should only believe what we see, but there are times when seeing is still not believing because it shouldn’t be.
Today’s passage is part of a response from Jesus after teaching a group of followers. Many could not accept his teaching and fell away. Others tried to remain faithful but were confused and had doubts. What does Jesus say about the Spirit? What does he say about the flesh – mortality? What does the teaching of Jesus do for us?
One of the biggest hurdles that people have with the teachings of Jesus is that they look at them from an earthly perspective, a human point of view. We try to make sense of what is being said by thinking of them with our limited ability to reason.
The things that Jesus taught were frequently of a higher nature than what most people are able to comprehend. Not everything that Jesus said can be taken literally or converted into something concrete so that it might be understood. We must expand our thinking to accept a more spiritual meaning behind what Jesus taught.
Jesus came to earth to express compassion on people in very real and tangible ways. He healed the sick. He drove out demons. He fed the hungry.
But much of what he did was also an indication, a shadow, of much greater truths. The healing he offered not only restored the physical bodies of many but was also meant to show that the presence of God’s love could heal even our mental and spiritual failings. The life that Jesus spoke of was a spiritual life, an everlasting life, an eternal connection to the Almighty God.
The things of mortality, the things of the flesh and of humanity are on a much lower level than what Jesus was talking about. And so we must see that the words of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus were the spirit of God’s love moving us to draw nearer to the loving embrace of the Trinity.
We may not be able to see the physical form of God, the Father, or Jesus or the Holy Spirit. But when we believe, when we accept that Christ died and rose again for our eternal salvation, to give us the love of God, then we will see in our hearts that God is real. We will see through the Spirit that God is with us and loves us, and then their will be no doubt in our faith.
DAILY CHALLENGE: What will help you see God in your heart?
