Faith and the Fuel Light

‘I told you, but you didn’t believe me.’

Hands up if you’ve ever said these words? In fact, you’ve had them said to you.

Was it when you were climbing a tree with a branch your parents knew was too thin to hold you? Or when the fuel-light in your car was on, but you thought you could make it home. The evidence was there, but the advice was not taken.

I remember pushing my motorised scooter up Main North Road one afternoon.  Yes, I thought I knew better than my fuel light. It was embarrassment and pain that I could have easily avoided.

The Bible records a tense confrontation between Jesus and a group of His Jewish opponents. ‘They gathered around him,’ it says in John 10:24. ‘If you are the Messiah’, they said, ‘tell us plainly.’ 

‘I did tell you,’ Jesus said, ‘but you do not believe. The works I do testify about me.’ (John 10:25-26)

It’s important to realise, that at this point Jesus had already:

• Turned water into wine
• Healed a young, dying child
• Made a lame man walk again
• Fed 5,000 people with a little boy’s lunch
• Walked on water
• Healed a blind man

And, these are only the miracles that John records – undoubtedly there were more. The evidence was clear – and Jesus had told them over and over again about who He was, and why God had sent him. His entire life had been like a fuel light that screamed ‘you need to fill up!’ They had simply chosen to ignore it.

The Bible is a compelling story that points to God’s existence and His character. History, nature and science speak loudly about a creative, loving and living God. If we take the time, we can see the signs in our own lives and experience too.

We are surrounded by evidence that ‘tells us plainly’ about a God that created us and loves us more than anything.

It is my hope and prayer that we may all listen, see and believe so that Jesus’ doesn't need to repeat those word - ‘I told you, but you didn’t believe me.’

Braden Blyde