Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue leader, 'Don't be afraid; just believe.' His daughter has just died, and Jesus is inviting continued trust despite the evidence of death.
What strikes me is that Jesus isn't denying the death. He's not saying 'she's not really dead.' He's saying 'don't let the fact of death determine your hope.' That's a different kind of faith. Not faith that contradicts reality. But faith that refuses to let reality have the final word. I think about the moments in my life when everything pointed toward loss, and I had to choose whether I'd let that be true or whether I'd keep trusting something larger. Those moments didn't erase the loss. But they did open something.
No comments yet. Be the first.