Miracle on "Thirty-Faith" Street

One of the classic Christmas movies is “Miracle on 34th Street,” and a famous quote from that movie goes like this: “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”  

Since it’s Christmas, let’s talk about that. Lots of times faith is described that way, as though an idea might be totally ridiculous, yet someone might still believe it by faith. But (if you don’t mind a critique of an iconic film) that’s really just a pop-culture explanation that actually does faith a disservice. The Bible view of faith is much different.

In reality, faith is related to evidence. What do you do when limited information demands an explanation? You make a decision based on what you believe is true. You’re sitting on a chair, and most likely you have no idea who made it or what the materials are. But it came from a furniture store, so it makes sense to sit on it and expect it to hold you.

That’s a bit like faith. You don’t have a complete set of facts about the chair, but you interpret the situation based on your faith in the furniture store. Now expand that view: Bible faith is effective not because it’s crazy but because it has great explanatory power. It’s a cohesive way to explain the world based on what God says about it.

For example, the resurrection of Jesus demands faith.  Now, maybe you don’t believe it; but those who deny the resurrection must explain a whole set of facts some other way: Jesus’s definite death, the empty tomb, and the complete transformation of 1st century believers. Faith is not the opposite of common sense; it’s the missing piece that cohesively explains the facts we know.  It’s “the evidence of things not seen,” wrote one 1st century Christian (Hebrews 11:1).

The miracle of Christmas is not a department store Santa who convinces other people to abandon common sense and believe he’s real (like in that classic movie). The miracle of Christmas is a God who came to earth, sharing our humanity and suffering in order to rescue us from sorrow, selfishness, and sin.

Christmas faith receives God’s message of hope and sings out, “Joy to the world! The Lord is come!”

GOD IS ABLE - 31. Final thoughts

~ He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. -1 Timothy 6:15-16

For some final thoughts about our "God is able" theme, this passage must be included. The word for "Potentate" is not quite the same as those we have considered, yet it is closely related. And it's a great word. Think of a potent medication that accomplishes everything the doctor wants, or a potent cleaning solution that obliterates what must be removed.

Now give that kind of power to a person. Such a ruler is completely sovereign (which is another word some Bible translations use here). Twice in the New Testament this word is used for the rulers of nations; but here, God alone is the sovereign Potentate.

This "God is able" series has focused on three forms of the New Testament word that means "capable" or "powerful." There are three other forms we have passed over because they don't quite fit that phrase. Yet they are also very encouraging.

   - One form of the word refers to acts of power themselves. It is used dozens of times to indicate the miracles Jesus did—His calling cards to give evidence that He was from God.

   - Another form is the action of empowering others, and God does this for His followers too. For example, He strengthens (or enables) believers by providing His own power to them (Colossians 1:11).

   - A third form is the noun in today's verse: the Potentate, the Able One.

Everything connected with the God of the Bible is marked with that same kind of power. The Bible itself is able to save our souls (2 Timothy 3:15; James 1:21), and the methods God gives us for doing His work are mighty and able (2 Corinthians 10:4).

As a final closing scene, consider this event from the Old Testament (in 2 Chronicles 25:6-9.). A king named Amaziah believed he needed some help in battle, so he paid a dear sum of money to hire 100,000 mercenaries. But a prophet warned him: "The Lord is not with those soldiers. Send them back." And Amaziah asked, "But what about all the money I've already spent?" The prophet replied, "The Lord is able to give you much more than this."

That's what we need to remember. Perhaps we've left God's path and invested our resources in many seemingly sensible things so we can get ahead. But the Lord says, "Where are your priorities? Have you left Me out?" This is a good moment to realize that nothing we leave behind can be equivalent to God Himself. God wants us to walk next to Him, and He promises to prove every single day that He is able.