Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"

Most people do not like exams. Although if the instructor says, "This will be an open-book exam," that relieves some stress. Luther's Christian Questions can be compared to an open-book exam, and the open book is the Bible.

As in the classroom, we learn things when we take this exam. First, like the father of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:24, we learn we need help with our unbelief. The answers we find in our open book tell us of our sinfulness. They remind us that we break God's commands and deserve His punishment. Every time we sin, our unbelief shows through. We find ourselves helpless and can only beg, "Help my unbelief!"

The second thing we learn in our open-book exam is that God loves us, unbelief and all. By grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit, He enables us to believe in Jesus as the only hope for our unbelief. Like the father in Mark 9, we can also cry out, "I believe." We believe in all that God has done in Christ to bring us forgiveness, life, and salvation.

What we learn in our open-book exam about unbelief and our belief impels us to come to the Sacrament of our Savior's body and blood. There we find our beggarly prayer for help answered through the forgiveness of sins. There we find renewal of belief so that it may have more power over our unbelief as we live our lives as Christ's people.
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