***
Wouldn’t life be easier if we had God figured out? If we could tell him what to do?
“Lord, do this, this, and this, and then I’ll believe.”
It seems part of our human code, this desire to calculate or control God. To pin him down underneath our thumb.
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In the Gospel, for example, Philip says, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
And we could add, “Lord, tell me exactly when my job will return; when this virus will end; when social distancing will be a thing of the past.”
“Give me a glimpse of a brighter future – and while you’re at it, show me your face – then I’ll believe.”
***
Unfortunately, that’s not how faith works. Faith is not built upon calculation or control; it’s built upon trust.
Think about it on these terms: When nursing, a child latches onto its mother, trusting it will be nourished.
It trusts. It’s nourished.
In a similar way, we must latch onto Christ – we must embrace him – before we can receive his blessings, blessings which can be as numerous as we are.
“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do,” Jesus says. But like a little child, we must learn to trust him first.
Only then will we have access to God.