"Why doesn't God do something?"

A 53-year-old mother of two adult children asked this question. Both of her children were living non-Christian lifestyles. Her son casually used drugs and, although he said he was not addicted, drug usage had destroyed his marriage. Her daughter had lived with several men, some whom she had not married.

This mother wanted God to bring them back to their senses. She said she was willing for God to do anything ... take away their health or have them experience financial disaster ... do anything to bring them back.

Instead, both of her children were prospering and were more successful than she was. They were disgustingly healthy.

"If God would only do something to prove Himself!"

These words were spoken by a high school senior who was struggling with faith. He had been reared in a solid, fundamentalist Christian home and now he was questioning his faith.

Was God really the Creator? Was Jesus just the Savior or only a man with good intentions who miscalculated His opposition? Was the Holy Spirit a comforter or was this only a name for self-encouragement.

The issue he wanted to know was whether the Christian faith was real or was it only a way for uneducated people to explain complicated living. Did people just need a myth to live by?

This young man prayed God would do something: something unusual, so miraculous that God would convince him of the reality of the Christian faith.

These two who asked, "Why doesn't God do something," were not people who had foxhole-religion or who needed rescuing. They were people who wanted God to prove their faith.

Whether we will admit it or not, most of us have much in common with those people. Non-believers often want God to prove Himself. If God would just do something miraculous so that there would be no doubt, they would make a commitment to the Lord.

Many Christians will not make a total commitment -- or will make only a shallow commitment -- until God does something miraculous. As a result they often run from church to church, from worship style to worship style, waiting for the miraculous to happen so that they will know that God is real and that He can be trusted with their lives. These folks say to God, "Why don't you do something ... do something real big?"

Is there a word from the Lord for people who have questions like this? There is. It is found in the Gospel according to Mark.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each tell us of the arrest, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Although they are describing the same event, these Gospel accounts are not identical but neither are they contradictory.

They are different because they are written for different purposes. Mark is writing to Christians living in Rome. The Emperor Nero is persecuting these Christians; he believes that if he applies enough pressure this little cultic band of Christians will dry up and blow away like a dandelion in late June.

With this in mind, Mark is writing to provide hope. The Christians in Rome, no doubt, are asking why God doesn't do something to prove to them and to the Roman world the Christian faith is real. It is within this context that Mark writes the story of the crucifixion. Let's examine the truths.