Believe in God

John 14:1

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

It sounds almost ridiculous to say that one of the main problems with the church is that we don't truly believe in God, but it also seems to be true. It must have also seemed absurd to the apostles for Jesus to be telling them to believe in God at the end of His ministry. Weren't they following Him all along because they believed in God and that Jesus was the Messiah? Why would Jesus give them this simple command? The answer is also simple, because we forget who God is and our belief in the true God begins to decay. It is no coincidence that in the same chapter that Jesus tells his disciples to believe he also makes claims that he is the image of the Father, and that the Father is sending the Holy Spirit. The entire ministry of the Holy Spirit is to help us believe. Jesus says "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring your remembrance all that I have said" (John 14:26). We know God through His Son and the Word and it is the Holy Spirit who aids us in all of this knowledge, so that we may believe in God. 

It is important to note above all things that we "cannot receive even one thing unless it is given [to us] from heaven" (John 3:27). Faith and belief are gifts flowing from God's mercy and grace, and they should be treated as such. Belief doesn't come easy, but we can find comfort in the fact that it is not something that we are called to muster up. The beauty of the cross comes from the reality that we cannot do even one thing to boast in our own works. Everything was done for us by Jesus on the cross, so that God could punish sin and give us grace. We need to be constantly thanking Jesus and praying to the Father to give us more faith so that we may find more delight in Him.

Why is belief so important? It sounds like a silly question to ask, but if we aren't believing like we should maybe it's because we need to be reminded why we believe. In John chapter 14 Jesus gives us a monumental speech about the importance of belief. Jesus tells us that it leads to works (the Way), it leads to knowledge of the Father (Truth), and it leads to salvation (Life). That is why Jesus is able to make the claim he makes in verse six that "[He] is the way, and the truth, and the life," because trusting in Jesus is a transformation.

If we believe we will be transformed and we will walk in the ways of Jesus. In verse twelve Jesus states this quite plainly "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." When we truly believe in Jesus and his life it will transform our character, and we will develop a love for the Father and His commandments. It's only natural that true belief in the life of Jesus leads to love, because through him God has given us everything. And keeping with this logic it is only natural for our love to be worked out through our lives. True love like the love of Jesus is proven by commitment to the Father's will. "I do as Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father" (John 14:31). Does our belief show the world that we love the Father?

Does our belief show the world that we know the Father? Jesus said "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves" (John 14:11). This is a wonderful claim. These words should bring us joy after joy. God has chosen to reveal His character to us. We don't have to make guesses as to how God acts, we see it through the life of Jesus. We are blessed to live in a country where Bibles are abundant, most households have at least two. But we don't treasure them. Why? It breaks my heart, because there are people all over the world who have literally died to bring the Bible to others not as blessed. We need to learn to see the value of our Bibles. It is through belief in God's word that truth is made known to us. We can know truth. That is amazing. that is why the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so important, because the Holy Spirit helps teach us and remind us. How different the church would be if we all simply read our Bibles reverently. We need to pray for help believing and remembering what we read when we dive into the Scriptures. The Bible is meant to be our sword, but when we neglect it we make it our enemy.

Finally belief gives us life, and not just any life but full life. Through belief in Jesus we come to the Father, and through studying belief we learn that it is not simply a claim of faith, but a transformed lifestyle. Through belief in God we are given a hope that extends beyond this world. A hope that rests on the promises of an eternal God. We are given a life that allows Jesus to tell us to "let not [our] hearts be troubled" (John 14:1,27). We are given a life of eternal comfort and security that we can spend seeking after the pleasure of knowing our Creator intimately. A life spent anxiously awaiting for the moment when the veil is completely torn and we see God face to face, and there is no longer any mystery. We have a purpose, and that purpose is to know our Creator which can only be done through belief. Let us not take the words of Jesus lightly. We need to believe to live and we need God to believe. We were created that way for a reason, so that through belief we may eternally enjoy God by glorifying Him forever.

Belief is essential to the Christian life. It is the pulse of our existence. If we are not believing we are not living. Do we want to be dead?

Mark 9:24

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Let us pray to God to help us overcome our unbelief, so we can be a people that the world will see and acknowledge that we love the Father.