Dear Friends and Family in Christ,
“Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’" - John 6:29
When I read this verse, my first inclination is to think: Wait a minute, isn’t that too simple? Everything inside of me that tells me I need to work to earn the life that God gives me in Jesus doesn’t accept this verse. And there identified is the flaw, the lie, the twisted thought process that plagues my mind: In order to fully do what God says is His work than I must do something more than believe in Him, right? Not according to Jesus’ words here. Authentic belief is simple. You just believe. You choose to trust. You take a risk and begin to walk in the freedom that is based on love that is given to you just because of who you are, not because of anything that you do. The work is to believe. Believe that Jesus is who He said He was.
In all honesty, I have been addicted to my own vindication more often than not. I think that if I can prove to God that I am living the way that He says I should live, then He will love me more or bless me more, or His plan for my life will come rushing in and provide the security that I long for. But what Jesus is saying here is that I don’t have to prove anything to God. All I have to do is believe in Him. As I say yes to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God and that His death and resurrection provided all that I need to enter into life- the lifelong process of salvation- then I am doing the work of God. This is the most simple work that I know. So why does it seem so difficult sometimes?
I think that it may seem difficult because I equate the work of God, which is to believe in Jesus, with morality. So the equation looks like this: Belief in Jesus = Morality. Is that a true equation? Does our belief in Jesus make us moral people? Absolutely not. There are plenty of people who claim to believe in Jesus who are anything but moral people. And there are plenty of people who claim not to believe in Jesus who bring the beauty back to the word morality for me. Does our belief in Jesus define our morality? Has Jesus told us what our morals should be? I know that He has. My problem is in the fact that I make my own definition of what my morals should be more important than my belief in Jesus or in what He says. Jesus said that the whole law [morality] is summed up in these two things: loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving my neighbor as myself. I will learn to love Jesus more and other people more only when I let go of the ideas that I have created of what I think I should be like if I love Jesus, or what other people should be like if they love Jesus.
Today, I’m letting go. I’m choosing to believe in Jesus and in other people and I’m letting that be enough for me. It’s about belief and the unconditional love that flows out of that.
Rejoice in the Lord Always,
Carly 1 Corinthians 2:2
