If Thou Canst Believe”
By L. A. S.
The little word “if,” though seemingly insignificant, is of vast importance. It stands in the way of many things. The devil tries to make it stand in the way of faith. When the tempter came to Christ in the wilderness, he said: “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” His whole effort was to raise doubt in the mind of Christ that he was the Son of God, and “if” was the appropriate word for his purpose. But Jesus allowed it to have no weight in his mind. It is a word that does not belong in the language of faith. The reason why this word is such a troublesome one in the experience of many people is that they are not living their lives on the plane of faith, but on some lower level where the shadows of doubt and uncertainty are found. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:23. The “if” of doubt is the one that most obstructs the pathway of the Christian. As the tempter tried to raise doubt in the mind of Christ, so he tries to raise doubt in the minds of his followers. The faith of Jesus, which saved him in that hour of trial, rested wholly upon the testimony of God’s word. By that evidence he knew that he was the Son of God. He did not bring with him into this world the treasury of his knowledge in heaven, but he became a babe, and of his childhood it is said that he “increased in wisdom.” He knew that he was the Son of God, not by memory, but by faith alone. The Christian knows the relationship which he sustains to God, not through feeling, nor through any other channel of evidence but that of faith. And whatever seeming evidence may come to him from any other sources to cause him to doubt, it has no weight with him against the declarations of God’s Word. The faith of Jesus is the faith that saves. The tempter says, “If you are a son of God,” “If your sins are forgiven,” etc., but the implied doubt can find no lodgment in the mind that is controlled by the faith of Jesus. “If thou canst believe,” is the only question to be settled. Remove that “if,” and all others disappear with it. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” L. A. S.