Yancey: what kind of faith

Saturday, February 2, 2013
    THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE
Meditation:
    As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”
    —Luke 11:29-30 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Some Christians long for a world well-stocked with miracles and spectacular signs of God’s presence. I hear wistful sermons on the parting of the Red Sea and the ten plagues and the daily manna in the wilderness, as if the speakers yearn for God to unleash his power like that today. But the follow-the-dots journey of the Israelites should give us pause. Would a burst of miracles nourish faith? Not the kind of faith God seems interested in, evidently. The Israelites give ample proof that signs may only addict us to signs, not to God.
    ... Philip Yancey (b. 1949), Disappointment with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud, p. 36 (see the book)
    See also Luke 11:29-30; Ex. 16:3-4; 17:1-7; Matt. 12:38-39; 16:4; Mark 8:11-12; John 2:18-21; 4:48; 1 Cor. 1:22-24
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the only true source for faith. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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