"The story is beyond bizarre." That's how Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports describes the story that broke yesterday about college football star Manti Te'o. Analysts are calling this a story like no other they've ever encountered.
Te'o is one of the most noted football players in America. He was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy this year, and he helped lead his Notre Dame team to the championship game. He is projected to be one of the top players selected in the NFL Draft in April.
But word came out yesterday that Te'o's girlfriend - the "love of my life", as he has described her - who died of leukemia in September never existed. Some contend that Te'o is the victim of a cruel hoax; others say he used the fictitious story to draw attention to himself in his pursuit of the Heisman. We may not know the full story for some time, if ever.
Children often develop imaginary friends. They have been known to talk with them, give them names and features, and cling to such relationships for a time. We are not alarmed about such fantasies; they're children. But when an adult clings to a phantom friend, whether knowingly or through naiveté - that begins to be a bit disturbing.
Hold on! What about me? Don't I claim to have a Friend whom I've never seen? Jesus has never spoken audibly to me, and yet I talk to Him. I've never felt the touch of His hand in mine. Is it possible I'm being duped? Is Jesus Christ the ultimate Phantom Friend?
Luke, in beginning his account of Jesus' life on earth, stated where he had obtained his information: "... those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us" (Luke 1:2). Eyewitness testimony is accepted today in any judicial court of our land. Those who have personally witnessed an event are considered credible, and their testimony weighty.
John didn't rely on the testimony of others. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). John sometimes reported what others saw and heard from Jesus, but much of the time he wrote what he had personally witnessed. Jesus was no phantom friend to John.
Consider Peter's testimony: "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). From all of the New Testament writers we have consistent credible testimony.
The bottom line is this: Our faith in Jesus is not wishful thinking. If we feel confident that a man named George Washington actually lived, we can feel even more confidence in knowing Jesus lived. The evidence we need for believing such a truth is present. In abundance.
And let's not forget what Jesus told "doubting Thomas": "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). Sometimes seeing is believing. And sometimes believing is seeing.
Timothy D. Hall
No comments:
Post a Comment