Today’s Encouragement is, “Jesus said to them, ‘You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’” Mark 9:19 NLT
Faithless People –
Is it possible that – this could be a rare glimpse into the perception of God for all of humanity? He is holy, pure, and perfect. Everything about Him is perfect. So, His perfect understanding of faith is here measured against the imperceptible faith of the people.
On first blush, we could see his response as impatient, condescending, condemning, or angry, “You people have no faith!” However, this doesn’t align with the nature of Jesus as it is portrayed throughout the New Testament. He is consistently shown as compassionate towards His people.
So, a more feasible understanding might be, “It is sad to see how small your faith is. Even after all this time I’ve been with you, all the works you’ve seen me do, and all that I have taught you, your faith is still so immature.”
Jesus’ nature and identity are entirely God and fully human. He doesn’t ‘lose His temper” nor become disgusted with us.
This verse presents a key perspective: “For he knows how weak we are; he remembers that we are only dust.” Psalm 103:14 NLT
Notice His concluding statement. “Bring the boy to me.” In kindness and compassion, and without regard for the faithlessness of the people and His disciples, He healed the boy.
This is our God, our Savior. He knows that we are faithless, only dust… but still – He loves, heals, saves, and gives us Eternal Life.
Thank You, Lord God, for Your kindness and compassion for Your faithless and dusty people.
This is Our God
Phil Wickham
Today’s Encouragement 