“Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe…” — John 11:14-15a (Message Bible)
Jesus made a passing comment we should not pass over.
Lazarus became sick and eventually died while his closest friend, Jesus, purposely delayed. Why? Jesus told his disciples he was glad, for their sake, he wasn’t there because he wanted them to believe — implying had he been there they would not have believed — probably because Lazarus would still have died.
The often missing part of Faith’s message is that while having it enables mountains to move and the impossible to occur, it is a gift from God. It can’t be worked up, earned by personal holiness, or manipulated for our personal desires — Jesus said,
“I’m telling you this straight. The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. — John 5:19 (Message Bible)
So when you are told if you had faith you could be healed, it may be technically true but God gives the faith, not you.
Your responsibility is to present yourself to Him, present your need and/or the needs of others, look to him for faith, and act on the faith he provides.
That’s what Jesus did.
— fritz@langgang.com
It didn’t take long for someone to ask, “What am I doing here, anyway?!” The church decided to look through history and the scriptures and provide the answer.
Patrikin - Kinship through The Father 