Our scripture this morning is John 4:46-54.
Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
I tend to see Jesus as being kind and warm all the time, but scripture tells us there were times that He responded in ways that make us stop and think. In this passage a royal official asks Jesus to heal his son and Jesus replies “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe” (v. 48). While each and every life is important to Jesus, he has a deeper message we must understand.
In another passage a Cannanite woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter and He tells her “it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:27-28). In each case when Jesus sounds as if He is refusing the request, He is really leading us all to the truth.
God is not merely about granting wishes, our relationship with our Creator is much more than simply getting what we want. In each of these examples Jesus leads us to faith in God, not based on miracles we can see but love for Him and each other. It is this eternal connection that will heal us all.
Gracious God, we bring our needs to You in faith, knowing that You love us. Help us to see Your plan for us and follow the path Jesus showed, believing even when we have not seen. Amen.