One day Jesus spent some time with his disciples on the mountain. And as he made his way down from the mountain, he notices that there is a crowd that had gathered who were waiting for him. It wasn’t long before Jesus was surrounded by tons of people who came out to see this man everybody was talking about. They had heard he performed these amazing miracles and even claimed to be the son of god. The air was thick with excitement and anticipation. As Jesus made his way through this crowd, one particular man catches his eye. There was a look of pain and desperation on the man’s face. Jesus notices that he had brought his son with him. With tears in his eyes, the man tells Jesus that there was something wrong with his son: “Jesus, my son, my son whom I love, he needs help! He can’t speak. He has seizures all the time. I’ve searched everywhere to find someone who can help him, but no one has been able to do anything for him. I have nowhere else to turn. Jesus, if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus was moved with compassion for this father and his son, and he says in Mark 9:23, ““Everything is possible for one who believes.” And this is what the father says in response in verse 24:
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
I think that these are some of the most honest and powerful words ever spoken. Something resonates in my heart when I read these words. They are a prayer and a confession rolled into one. They are hope and pain intertwined. They are love and fear holding hands. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
As I observe the world that we live in, I can’t help but notice this tension everywhere. This tension between faith and unbelief; between love and fear; between hope and pain. There is something about this tension that seems to define the human experience. And the reason that this tension exists is because we are living in between the already and the not yet.
The Bible teaches us that when Jesus came into this world 2000 years ago, he ushered in a whole new era in human history. It was a time when something of heaven became real on earth. So that is why at Vineyard Columbus we pray that the sick would be healed, we pray that broken marriages would be restored, we pray that lives would be transformed. We pray this way because we believe that Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God. So we pray believing that God can do this. But we also know that not everyone that we pray for will get healed. We know that not every relationship will be restored. And this is because while the kingdom of God was ushered in by Jesus 2000 years ago, it will not be fully established until Jesus returns. So while we can taste some of the realities of the kingdom of God right here and now, we will not experience it in its fullness until Jesus returns. This is what we mean by living in this tension between the already and the not yet.
So how does this reality play out in the world today? Well, there is absolutely no doubt that advancements in science, technology, and medicine have made it so that people in the 21st century live longer and healthier lives. And yet, despite these great advancements in humanity, the world is still filled with great pain and suffering everywhere. Just look at the news. A man named Ariel Castro living just a few hours from us in Cleveland, Ohio abducted 3 women and he held them captive in his home for 11 years. For 11 years he beat these women, tortured these women, raped these women, and when one of the women got pregnant, he starved and beat her and threw her down the steps to induce a miscarriage.
The world desperately tries to tell us that if we try hard enough, we can make things better. If we just work hard enough, there will be no more wars. If we just try hard enough, people will find it in themselves to be good. But is this really what we see happening? There are more slaves today than at any point in human history – 27 million slaves worldwide. Really, do we think that if we try just a little harder, that things will get better?
The Bible tells us in Isaiah 53:6, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” The Bible also tells us that, “If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.” There is nothing in this world that has not been contaminated by sin. Our relationships have been contaminated by sin. Our governments have been contaminated by sin. Our families have been contaminated by sin. Our hearts and our minds have been contaminated by sin. It is because of sin that this world that was designed for good is now so full of pain and suffering. Because of sin, the heart of humanity has been sickened by evil. And when sin enters the story, the first thing it does is that it puts up a barrier between us and God. And when our relationship to God is not right, it causes problems in every area of our lives including our marriage, family, career, relationships, and finances. Sin is like putting our white clothes in the washer with one red sock. Everything comes out pink.
And what science, technology, and medicine will never be able to do is to address the issue of sin. That’s something that only Jesus can do. That’s why it makes all the difference in the world that Jesus came to this world 2000 years ago to usher in his kingdom. And when Jesus died on the cross, it wasn’t simply to save us for heaven. Jesus died on that cross so that the people of his kingdom would embrace the agenda of the king, which is to make right all that has been contaminated by sin, to see his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is heaven.
This is the gospel. This is the good news.