And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Matt 11:2-7
“Doubt as sin. — Christianity has done its utmost to close the circle and declared that even doubt to be a sin. One is supposed to be cast into belief without reason, by a miracle, and from then on to swim in it as in the brightest and least ambiguous of elements: even a glance towards land, even the thought that one perhaps exists for something else as well as swimming, even the slightest impulse of our amphibious nature — is sin! — Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality.
Fredrich Nietzche lived in a time when Christianity became fundamentalist, tieing everything up so that there was no room for doubt. The Christian wasn’t allowed to doubt, such expressions were sinful, and showed a complete lack of faith.
No doubt is not sin! Faith in our minds battles with a thousand and one emotions. In religion and philosophy, we call it doubt, but in real life, we might call it depression, anxiety, or anyone of the many diagnoses that make up our mental health. When God says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, God wasn’t joking—we are complex.
John the Baptist had been out there in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. Confronting demons both spiritual and physical, but know he was in prison. Alone, with only his thoughts and doubts to keep him company, he begins to question. Jesus responds to John’s question by telling him all the miracles that were happening and about to happen—‘John, you did your bit, preparing the way for God to move,’ doubt not!
You might be in that place of doubt this morning, and God would tell you this morning, ‘I AM is walking with you and has a plan for your life.’
