Incapable of believing

In John's gospel, the Jews are said the be incapable of believing because they "look to one another for approval" (5:44). Maybe there is a large incompatibility between human respect and authentic faith in Christ. The strokes or scorn of our peers become more important than the approval of Jesus.

Bendon Manning writes, "When we freely assent to the mystery of our belovedness and accept our core identity as Abba's child, we slowly gain autonomy from controlling relationships." It's at that moment we become inner-directed instead of outer-determined.