Believing
“Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.” John 20:8 KJV
I think it is one of the coolest events of childhood, especially from a parent’s or grandparent’s vantage point. It’s when a child learns to ride a bike. They want so much to believe they can do it, but they are so afraid to have someone let go. The world is a much better place where hope doesn’t get tested.
I don’t know who is more excited, the parent or the child. The grasp loosens. The child wobbles. The parent runs beside the child until the bike’s speed outpaces the parent’s endurance. Now the parent’s encouragement comes from the sidelines, not the embrace.
One of the strangest things about him is that you almost believe his Mom wanted a girl instead of a boy. Did she say that? No. But, she made this future President wear a dress until he was five years old. Being the only child might have its advantages, but surely this wasn’t one of them.
He was born five days after Charles J. Guiteau was found guilty of shooting President James Garfield. There were no insanity pleas in those days and Guiteau was sentence to hang less than six months later.
He was a true blooded American. His mother had 13 bloodlines that could be traced back to the Mayflower’s arrival. One of his Grandfathers was a China tea trader, that was, until a financial crash in 1857 brought him down. His Grandfather rose up out of the ashes with another item to import: Opium. The Civil War broke out and the military had a high demand for the drug as a pain killer for the wounded soldiers. His Grandfather made a fortune on this crop and it was into this rich environment the young lad arrived.
Ted Morgan offered this summary of his mother’s attitude: “His mother was known to be haughty. She treated people as if they were not there.” She refused to let him play with the other kids unless they came from other rich families. He was privately tutored and didn’t encounter other students until he went off to college. When he ran for president on his first term he did not even win his own hometown or county, because the people there remembered how stuck up his family was.
Jesus had many mourners at His death. Granted, many of them mourned at a distance and not at His gravesite. Probably what caught most of them by surprise was their disappointment of their faith in Him. They thought He was the one. They thought He was the Messiah, the Hero, the Deliverer. Death should not have claimed Him before His victory. They were depressed.
The hopelessness extended to the eleven followers He had left behind. They spent three years with Him. They saw the miracles and heard the words. They gave up everything to follow Him. They thought He was going to make the world a different place. Now their hopes were gone.
We were in the middle of what was probably our greatest depression. There simply were no jobs. The banks even closed for periods because people were running to the banks to get what little money they had out of the banks. Their hope was fading fast. Maybe the American spirit just wasn’t worth believing in.
Soup lines formed as charities tried to help the unemployed by offering these distressed people a little meal to carry them over. This young man, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, inquired as to the reason for the lines, because he had known no poverty. His heart sank for these people over their plight even though he, personally, had never felt such pain. He knew that drastic measures needed to be taken. This isolated young man was indeed shocked as he saw the world as it was for the first time in his life.
Some people mounted the courage to visit the grave of Jesus. When some arrived they found the grave was empty. They told others, who came rushing to the grave. These visits were for comfort, but panic soon arose as they wondered who took the body of their friend. Who would pull such a cruel trick? But the Bible said there was one who arrived and looked into the cave and he believed. While the others panicked, he believed. His name was John.
Franklin Roosevelt never had a day where he worried where his next meal was coming from. But FDR saw his nation’s plight with newly opened eyes and he knew he had to find ways to change things. He offered new programs that put people to work through jobs that offered internal improvements to our infrastructure. But he also encouraged the people not to give up on the American spirit with his fireside chats. I bet he won over his hometown and county.
Sometimes things seem hopeless. Sometimes it looks like we have nowhere to turn. Sometimes we are in a dark room and can’t find a flashlight or light switch. Just remember when someone lets go of your bike, or you’re standing in that soup line, or the cave seems empty, God is there and He has hope that will come to your aid.
Prayer: Father, Sometimes hope seems so distant. Please always grant me the strength to believe. Amen.
