Back in 2004 Robert Zemeckis and his team of fledgling motion capture-ers created a film adaptation of the classic Chis Van Allsburg story “The Polar Express.” In the film, a boy hops on a mysterious train on Christmas Eve and journeys to the North Pole to meet Santa. But there is a twist: the boy doesn’t believe in Santa. Eventually he comes face to face with elves, reindeer, and all the other North Pole staples but still does not believe. His moment of truth comes when he holds one of Santa’s Christmas bells in his hand and, to his dismay, he cannot hear it ring no matter how hard he shakes it. The other children can, but he cannot because he does not believe. He holds the bell tightly in his hand and says to himself over and over again, eyes shut tight in concentration, “I believe. I believe.” When he open’s his eyes, he shakes the bell and suddenly he can hear its crisp clear tone. At the end of the story, Tom Hanks, or rather the Train Conductor, tells him the thing that he is supposed to take away from the whole adventure is to believe. As the credits roll the silky smooth voice of Josh Groban sings “…You have everything you need if you just believe."
Countless Christmas/Santa movies play on the theme of believing. Usually it is the stuffy old grown ups who have lost the capacity to believe and need their innocent plucky children to renew the Spirit of Christmas in their hearts (The Santa Clause anyone?). But what struck me as different about The Polar Express was that we, the audience, went on the boy’s journey to belief. Here was a kid who was just like the stuffy grown-ups. He even saw the incredible wonders of the North Pole and still didn’t believe. What changed that? What made him able to hear Santa’s bells? How did he believe?
One person in the Bible who believed was Abraham. The apostle Paul in his “tell it like it is” style, told the church in Romans 4 about Abraham and displayed three aspects of the Patriarch’s belief that truly hit home on what it takes to believe.
1. Abraham trusted God to the uttermost.
Romans 4:17says, “(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”
Let’s stop for a moment and think about that last phrase. Paul basically says that God can raise people from the dead, but more impressively can make things that don’t exist… exist.
Think about it. If it was necessary for there to be no moon tomorrow, God could take away the moon. Easy. Piece of cake. Or, if there needed to be two moons, he could whip up an extra. He could make another sun that wouldn’t burn up the Earth when added to the sun that we already have. Or make the sky green. Or make gravity reverse. Or make complete new worlds or dimensions at His spoken word. Or make reality itself completely different from how it is now.
If you think those things are too impossible, then you need to go back and read verse 17 again. God made the universe and everything in it. Do you think that it would be hard for Him to do anything of equal, lesser, or greater value? The effort that God puts into anything is not based on some standard of “action/reaction.” He is Elohim for crying out loud. He defined the very concept of “action/reaction.” There is no scale of ability or power that He cannot go beyond.
Abraham was an old man. His wife was really old too. So when God said “I have made you a father of many nations,” God would have to do some serious reality-bending things and Abraham trusted that God would follow through on His promises. Abraham believed. Not because he shut his eyes and repeated it to himself. Not because he had seen any evidence or proof. Abraham trusted God. He knew Him. Because of this, there was no doubt in his mind that God would do what He said. This is the cornerstone of belief: trust.
2. Abraham did not let what he was told or what he saw effect his belief.
Romans 4:18-19 says, “who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.”
Abraham knew the evidence was against him. I am sure he told people about God’s promise and they laughed at him (Sarah actually laughed a lot). He could also see that he and Sarah were old and he knew their time of reproductive-ness was in the past. But despite all the things he saw and heard, contrary to what could be hoped for, he hoped and did not consider the reality surrounding him. He knew God could bend reality at His will.
3. Abraham strengthened his belief by turning to God and glorifying Him.
Romans 4:20-21 says, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”
I will fully admit that even with the word of God to back it up, I, in my human fickleness of mind, still have moments of doubt that God could make two moons, two suns, or turn reality inside out. The beauty of a relationship with Christ is that He knows we are human. There is no condemnation for those under Christ Jesus. He knows the struggles we have as flesh and blood people, so He is there for us in our moments of doubt. Do you feel like you can’t believe? Guess what? That is OK. Turn to Jesus like the man did in Mark 9:24 and say, "Help my unbelief!”
Belief is not something we can muster on our own by saying “I believe. I believe." Contrary to what Josh Groban says, belief is not all we need. The belief that comes from our flesh is weak, wobbly, unreliable, and will ultimately fail when push comes to shove. God can help our unbelief. He is what we need to truly believe and believe in.
