The notion of “seeing is believing” is prevalent in our world. The saying might call to mind an advertisement for a vacation spot or perhaps one for the local car dealer. The validity of this notion is deeply ingrained in our culture as evidenced by Missouri being the “Show Me” state, the common encouragement to see for yourself or the weight an “eye witness” account plays in our judicial system. This last example is one where we begin to recognize that there are limits to the statement “seeing is believing.” After all, much eye witness testimony may be excluded as less than credible if the person giving the account is a close associate of the defendant or if they are not mentally stable or if they were not sober at the time of the “seeing.” Even more so, eye witness testimony becomes suspect when 20 years or more have past since the seeing. So sometimes “seeing isn’t believing.”

Another realm where “seeing is believing” becomes substantially ingrained in our culture and mindset is Science. The scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. It is based upon observable, empirical, measurable evidence, subject to specific principles of reasoning. That little word observable is an important one for our discussion. Let me tell you, I love science. I love knowledge, and I love certainty. However, more than a few nights in a lab have shown me that observations yield much information, but a mountain of information does not necessarily yield certainty. This fact is driven home the morning after an all night lab session when your information seems to indicate that the monitoring equipment was faulty or perhaps your lab partner was half asleep or dyslexic or so caffeine laden that he couldn’t write clearly. This may be a simplistic example, but none the less it points out that there are limits to “seeing is believing” in the scientific realm. Furthermore, in the internet age of much information, much information often clouds and confuses our ability to see clearly.

All this to say that I would agree in many cases that “seeing is believing.” However it is essential to my soul and refreshing to my spirit that I also understand that “believing is seeing.” Consider the discussion that Jesus had with Philip immediately following his statement that He is the way, the truth and the life. The following is John 14 verse 7 through verse 11. “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone that has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.”

I am so thankful that this exchange was recorded and preserved for us. You may think that Philip didn’t have much faith considering the circumstances, but Philip’s experience and struggle with faith is the same human experience and struggle with faith that we all must face. Sooner or later we all must recognize that “seeing is believing” only takes us so far and that making the leap to “believing is seeing” is what our soul is yearning to experience. So let me encourage you to take the leap and see the world in a whole new way.