Sunday, August 17, 2008

Believing ON

You may ask, "Do you believe in Jesus?"
Many many people will respond in the affirmative. "Sure I believe in Jesus".
However, believing in Jesus is not enough. Oh really? You ask. Indeed. My pastor pointed out that there are places in scripture that tell us to believe ON Christ. Mhh, I'd never given that much thought. What's the difference between believing in and believing on?

To believe on something is to put your full weight on it. It is trusting that the object of your belief will hold you up and keep you from falling. Resting fully.

Let's use a cheesy illustration, shall we?

Suppose there is a chair in the room you're in.
Do you believe in the chair?
Why of course, it's right here.
Good.
Now sit in it.
If you trust that you can sit on that chair and it will not crumble beneath you, then you believe on the chair. If on the other hand, you decline the offer of that seat as you question the weight capacity of said chair then you are not. You see there is a difference.

What would our faith look like if we took this same perspective to our Lord?

Many believe in the existence of Jesus-but when push comes to shove, what does that belief really mean? Is there any weight to it? So when in comes to the pain or questions in our lives do we put them fully on God or do we hang on, trying to maintain control? If we are believing on Him there is no need to worry, no need to manipulate or strategize. We can lay back in the arms of our Savior and know that His plans and purposes will come to pass.

Be still and know that He is God.

In Him we will find our rest.

No comments: