Why does God give us so many pictures of believing in Jesus? Why not just some philosophical treatise on faith, or some systematic theology of faith? Why illustrations? And why so many?
First, because faith is so hard. Unbelief comes naturally to us; faith is unnatural. Faith is so hard it has to be given us by God. And he gives it to us partly by multiplying the pictures of faith to maximize our understanding and exercising of it.
Second, because people are so different. Because of our different backgrounds, personalities, needs, etc., if God had only given us one picture of faith, it might not have suited everyone. He gave us ten (more than ten, in fact) to ensure that everyone could have a picture of faith that would suit them.
Third, because God’s desire for faith is so strong. Take these ten pictures as a vivid expression of Christ’s passionate yearning for us to believe in him. Click on over to The Christward Collective for ten pictures of faith and try to still believe that he really doesn’t want you to believe in him.