The Consequences of No

Luke 7:18-35

A few years ago Jim Carrey was in a comedy called Yes Man where his character had a spell cast on him which forced him to answer "yes" to everything that was asked of him. It is a truly funny movie, but also one which has a deeper point. When we live our lives in perpetual "no" mode we get stuck in a kind of negativity that has deep consequences for our life.  On the other hand, saying yes to life can open us up to new possibilities and positivity.  This holds true for our faith life as well. When we are ruled by skepticism and doubt and require conclusive proof before believing, we close ourselves off from seeing all that God is doing in our lives and in the world. But when we see the world through eyes of faith and make conscious efforts to see God in the world, we begin to notice God working in all sorts of ways.

When John's disciples are sent to Jesus they inquire: "are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for another?" (Luke 7:19) they are making a real effort to discern what God is up. Jesus answers them by pointing to all that he has done to demonstrate that he is indeed the messiah:

 

Go and tell John what you have seen and heard, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. Luke 7:22

 

Jesus' response places the burden of deciding who he is on the individual. Faith is something we each must decide for ourselves. No one else can believe for you and no two people have the same journey. We all must decide. For those who were open to what Jesus was doing it became increasingly clear that he was the one they had been waiting for.

 

Jesus' life and ministry offer ample evidence of who he is really is but many missed what God was doing.  They were blinded by their hardness of heart and responded negatively to both John and Jesus.  The Pharisees and other religious leaders refused to be baptized by John and rejected Jesus' teachings.  Instead they responded with the power of no and instead of finding reasons to believe they found reasons to attack.  Jesus unmasks their negative and unbelieving hearts by saying:

 

For John the Baptist has come eating not bread and no wine, and you say 'he has a demon'; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children. Luke 7:33-35

 

The Pharisees were so closed off to what God was doing that nothing could convince them that their beliefs were mistaken. Before they met Jesus they decided he was wrong, before they heard him speak or saw him heal people they believed he was a fake.  This negativity led them to miss the very thing they were hoping and waiting for.  Faith is often less a matter of being convinced and more about our openness to God.  The power of no allows people to remain in control, while the power of yes requires real trust that God will be with us in our journey into an unknown future.

 

Is it easier for you to say yes or no?  Do you often need to be convinced in order to believe? What are the consequences of no in your life? What would happen if you said yes more?