never the same way twice.

wanted to write a little something about faith. so here goes...

i just finished up a walk with my dog.  something i try to do often, though he probably thinks i don't do it enough (sorry pup...i'll try to do better...) and often on these little jaunts i talk with God.  sometimes it feels like a one way conversation...sometimes it doesn't.  this one felt kinda one way.  but nonetheless i had some thoughts about faith...and i thought i'd share 'em.

things never happen the same way twice. honestly, they don't. ever. i mean, i can honestly say nothing i've ever done or experienced has ever been exactly the same as i had experienced it before.  now that may seem like a pretty dumb epiphany and you might be saying, 'duh, i've always known that...'  but hang on a second and take this ride with me...i'll show you what i'm getting at.

i started thinking about Jesus.  when you look at Him in scripture...the things He did.  how he interacted with people.  especially those who he healed. he never healed the same way twice.  have you ever noticed that?  there was no formula.  he healed with a touch. sometimes he just spoke a word. for another he used some spit.  still another some mud.  he told one man to go wash.  one woman just touched his cloak. and other times He prayed.  hmm.  so think about the implications of that.  Jesus didn't set up some sort of ritual, or equation, for how He would heal someone.  and that can be echoed with how he interacted with people.  taught them.  rebuked them.  or encouraged them.

so back to the healing part...

here is the epiphany...it seems to be very important and intentional that He didn't set up some specific act or set of acts for how to heal someone.  so...what was it that healed them?  faith.  Jesus' faith?  yep.  did Jesus have faith in Himself? you ask.  well yeah...but His faith was in the Father.  so here's what i was thinking...it's by faith that He healed these people...not how He did it.  see, He knew His Father was good...and that all things are possible with the Father.  so it's almost as if He was like, how can i do something crazy to throw these guys off (those standing around him wide-eyed and gawking at what He was doing) and to teach them that it is by faith that I am healing these people and not My actions....I got it...I'll spit in some mud and rub it on this dude's eyes... and boom, the dude sees.

he never did the same thing twice.

in the narnia stories, at one point, lucy asks aslan something like 'why don't You come back and save us like you did last time?'  and aslan's response really hits home for me and it's something like 'because, my dear lucy, things never happen the same way twice.'  wow...how important is it for us to remember this.  so often i try to do something exactly as i did before expecting the same result.  i do this with God all the time and when i do, the Creator of the universe usually comes back at me with something like, 'but Chris, i'm too big and too creative and too good to do the same thing as last time.' 

so all this to say what?! well, not sure really...other than there is an amazing God out there who loves us deeply and it's by our faith that we honor and love Him.  so press on.  and remember...next time it will be different. but have faith, He is with you.