THIS SERIES: A HEALTHY HEART
Over forty years ago I was impacted by one of the most important Christian writers of the twentieth century, AW Tozer. One portion of his teaching which has stayed with me is this little gem on faith:
In a dramatic story in the Book of Numbers faith is seen in action. Israel became discouraged and spoke against God, and the Lord sent fiery serpents among them. “And they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” Then Moses sought the Lord for them and He heard and gave them a remedy against the bite of the serpents. He commanded Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole in sight of all the people, “and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.” Moses obeyed, “and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (Num 21:4-9).
In the New Testament this important bit of history is interpreted for us by no less an authority than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is explaining to His hearers how they may be saved. He tells them that it is by believing. Then to make it clear He refers to this incident in the Book of Numbers. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
Our plain man in reading this would make an important discovery. He would notice that “look” and “believe” were synonymous terms. “Looking” on the Old Testament serpent is identical with “believing” on the New Testament Christ. That is, the looking and the believing are the same thing. And he would understand that while Israel looked with their external eyes, believing is done with the heart. I think he would conclude that faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God......
Now, if faith is the gaze of the heart at God, and if this gaze is but the raising of the inward eyes to meet the all-seeing eyes of God, then it follows that it is one of the easiest things possible to do. It would be like God to make the most vital thing easy and place it within the range of possibility for the weakest and poorest of us......
In the New Testament this important bit of history is interpreted for us by no less an authority than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is explaining to His hearers how they may be saved. He tells them that it is by believing. Then to make it clear He refers to this incident in the Book of Numbers. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
Our plain man in reading this would make an important discovery. He would notice that “look” and “believe” were synonymous terms. “Looking” on the Old Testament serpent is identical with “believing” on the New Testament Christ. That is, the looking and the believing are the same thing. And he would understand that while Israel looked with their external eyes, believing is done with the heart. I think he would conclude that faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God......
Now, if faith is the gaze of the heart at God, and if this gaze is but the raising of the inward eyes to meet the all-seeing eyes of God, then it follows that it is one of the easiest things possible to do. It would be like God to make the most vital thing easy and place it within the range of possibility for the weakest and poorest of us......
This excerpt comes from the chapter, 'The Gaze of the Soul' from the must-read classic, The Pursuit of God. If you don't already own a copy, there is a link below to Amazon* where you can purchase one.
Jesus was 'lifted up' on the cross, in resurrection power, and to the place of unassailable authority at the right hand of the Father. As we turn our gaze towards Him in each of these situations, we will receive everything we need. Let's take time to do that today.....
WANTING TO RESPOND TO THIS POST?
Most readers seem to prefer to get in touch direct, using the 'Get in Touch!' buttons
- please do, I love hearing from people......
Others like the facility to publicly comment under posts, so the public comment option is also available (bottom left).
- please feel free to add your thoughts
Most readers seem to prefer to get in touch direct, using the 'Get in Touch!' buttons
- please do, I love hearing from people......
Others like the facility to publicly comment under posts, so the public comment option is also available (bottom left).
- please feel free to add your thoughts
FOR VISITORS WHO HAVE COME VIA SOCIAL MEDIA OR EMAIL LINK:
Click to read more Blog posts or to find out more about Rhythms of Grace
[**Photo credit : Jabari Timothy @ Unsplash, with thanks]
Click to read more Blog posts or to find out more about Rhythms of Grace
[**Photo credit : Jabari Timothy @ Unsplash, with thanks]
SHARE WITH FRIENDS:
RSS Feed
