To Him That Believeth

“And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Mark 9:21-24

When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, He found His disciples unsuccessfully trying to cast an evil spirit out of a boy. The father of the young boy said to Jesus, “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” The father had failed to help his son. This man had undoubtedly taken his son to many other people for help, but to no avail. As the man brought the boy to Jesus, he came first to the disciples; and since Jesus had not been there, he had asked them to help, but they could not. The boy’s father was desperately continuing to seek help, but he had long since given up hope that anyone could actually help his son. He said to Jesus, “If thou canst do anything….” Jesus told him that all things are possible to him that believeth.

This father is a good picture of us as Christians. He knew that it was his job as a father to find help for his son, so he kept seeking for help in spite of the fact that he no longer believed it would do any good. If we aren’t careful, we can fall into the same trap. We are doing “Christian” things, but are we believing that Christ is able to make a difference in our lives?