Believing the Unseen

Reflections on Hebrews 11:1

"To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1, GNB)

Perhaps you've heard someone say, "I won't believe it unless I see it."  Nevertheless, they believe many things they have never seen and cannot see.  They cannot see the past, but they believe many things about the past.  They believe in George Washington even though they have never seen him.  They cannot see many things in the present, yet they believe them.  They believe that they have brains, though they have never seen them.  They cannot see the future, but they believe many things about the future. They believe that they will own a car when they grow up even though the car may not even be made yet.  They believe the sun will come up tomorrow, and their mother will make them go to school, but they have not yet seen it.  Actually, they have good reasons to believe most of those things even though they have not seen them.  They are not stupid. Similarly, Christians are not stupid for believing things they cannot see.  They have good reasons to believe them.

God

God is a spirit (John 4:24), so no one has ever seen him (1 John 4:12).  Nevertheless, we believe in God because "his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made" (Romans 1:20, ESV). We believe in him because "The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1, NET). When we see what God does, we have good reason to believe in him just as we have good reason to believe in wind because we can see and feel what wind does.

People in the past

We also believe and are certain that Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul were real people who lived on this earth. We believe Jesus was a real person who lived on the earth even though none of us have seen him.  We believe he did because others saw him and wrote or told about what they saw.  Matthew became a follower of Jesus and wrote about what he saw and heard.  Peter was also a follower of Jesus who told about what he saw and heard.  Mark wrote what he learned from Peter.  Luke interviewed many people who had known Jesus, and wrote what he learned.  John was also a follower of Jesus, and he wrote a book about Jesus also.  We believe Jesus was a real person for the same reason people believe in George Washington - because people who saw him, talked to him, and touched him wrote about him.
 
When several people reported that they had seen Jesus after he rose from the dead, Thomas did not believe them.  He said, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it" (John 20:25, NIV84). Thomas finally did believe when Jesus actually appeared to him and showed him his wounds.  Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29, NIV84).  We believe and are sure that Jesus lived and rose again, not because we have seen him, but because we have heard what those who saw him said.
 
Promises about the future

Why do we believe that our parents will make us go to school tomorrow?  Because that is what they usually do.  Why do we believe them when they promise us something for our birthday?  Because our parents keep their promises to us.  Similarly, we believe the promises God and Jesus have made about the future.  We believe that Jesus will return to this earth, that he will raise the dead, and that he will judge all the people in the world, that he will send the wicked to a place of eternal punishment, and that he will take the righteous to live with him in a new heavens and a new earth. We have not seen any of these things, but we are sure of the things that we hope for because we have learned that God keeps his promises.