Real Clear Truth

John 14:12 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

1 Samuel 14:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.” 7 So his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.”

What I like about the story of Jonathan is that God seems to like faith that says let’s go do something God hasn’t told us specifically to do, but we know that with God it is possible and maybe He will go with us. There’s something in me that says this is exactly what God wants. He doesn’t want to have to tell us every detail of what we are to do. He wants children who see what family we are part of, what we have inherited, and what the Father’s heart for us is, and then say if God is willing let’s go take a garrison of the enemy!

In other words, I tend to see the possibilities of what we can do in God as unlimited and endless. Even more, I see God as longing to discover if our hearts will be filled with faith as Jonathan’s was. It’s as if He can hardly hold back Himself in His desire to pour out through us (or on our behalf) and all He is waiting for is a heart that sees something is possible that normally would be completely impossible.

In a sense then, while Jesus was perfect, full of faith and only did what the Father did, and thus well pleasing to the Father, I am thinking that our occasional sputtering sparks of faith are what really thrills the Father. It’s like He wants to do SO much through us and He’s just waiting for us to open up and believe.

The Father knew He could count on Jesus. But why should He count on us? Jesus never let Him down and yet we continually let Him down. Even so, His love is undiminished for us and He is constantly searching for the heart that will believe and trust in Him when all natural hope is lost.

2 Cor 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.

The Greek word for “perseverance” there (hypomone) means steadfastness, constancy, endurance, the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith by even the greatest trials and sufferings. Not only did the apostles do great works by faith, they did so with all perseverance. They simply wouldn’t stop and nor should we.

Now the question is did the apostles do what they did because God commanded them to do it, or did they accomplish all they did because they had a heart like Jonathan’s (a heart stirred by what God can do)? Did God have to tell them to persevere or did they persevere out of love and because they wanted to?

For me there is something essentially different between us and Jesus. Jesus demonstrated to us what is possible with God. He showed us how to follow the Father and do exactly what the Father is doing. He opened the door making it even possible for us to be in fellowship with the Father. The Father had no reason whatsoever to doubt that Jesus would do everything He was sent to do. With us, the Father has every reason to doubt we will ever follow Him.

Thus, when we do have faith like Jonathan’s — faith that steps so far beyond what should be expected by us humans — it must simply thrill the Father. Moreover, because we a NOT slaves, but His children with a rich inheritance and privileges, we don’t have to commanded. As a Father, He will teach us in His ways, but something inside of me sees what Jonathan did and says the Father must just be waiting to see what we will do with the gifts He’s given us. He must just be waiting to see if we will take that garrison of the Philistines. And He must be thrilled when we do.

Not just pleased because we were obedient, but thrilled because we believed that if the Lord is on side we could easily defeat an enemy that FAR out numbers us. There is no reason on Earth we should believe like Jonathan did — except that we have a God who is just that amazing. And *that* is exactly what I think thrills Him — that we see who He is for real and our faith actually effects what we do to the point of even “greater works” than Jesus did.

While we are to do everything out of love for Him and others, we should never limit how much freedom we have as His children to move as our hearts are stirred by faith in what we can accomplish when He works with us. Just as Jonathan did.