Just Believe

"Then they asked Him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent." John 6:28-29

We usually want to know one thing......what do I absolutely have to do in order to fulfill what is required? That is, tell me exactly what I must do in order to do what is expected. Honestly, I think we are looking for the minimum requirement and the least we must do. When Jesus gives them the answer they don't like it, it isn't enough and they press Him further to do a miracle to help them believe. It is suggested that maybe manna from heaven again would help, but Jesus tells them He is the Bread of Life. They grumble even more about this because they don't really believe. You see, if we really believe in the One that God sent us, Jesus, then, we will know what is required of us. Why is that so hard?

When we practice religion instead of having faith, we tend to look for the rules and expectations to fulfill the requirements of spirituality, rather than to find the expression of our belief in the response to our relationship with the Lord. In the Old Testament, one of my favorite verses is Micah 6:8. The prophet makes it clear for those of us who must have details or checklists or things to do. Micah says....."He has showed you O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." If we really believe in the One He has sent, that is exactly what we would do.

Let me explain in a different way. If you really love someone and are committed to them, you just know what to do. It is part of the relationship. A two-way relationship. When we truly believe in Jesus; who He is, why He came, what that means, then we will do what we should do, be merciful with others, and walk humbly in our lives in response to that relationship. We worry too much about the work we must do. That is religion. If we have the right relationship the work will follow. Many days God accomplishes His will in between what I have scheduled to do. Not that we shouldn't be organized and be responsible, I am all for that for sure. BUT, primarily we will do what we should do out of a right relationship with Him. We don't find a right relationship with Him by doing what we think He wants us to do.

It may be that the hardest thing to do is just to believe and not try so hard until we get that part down to do so many other things. If I believe then He can show me whatever else needs to be done. With believing comes trusting, with trusting comes following, with following comes discipleship and with discipleship comes fulfillment.
Hope this little lesson from Jesus in the Gospel of John, compared to the words in Micah give you some fresh motivation to work on your relationship with the Lord. That is what is really most important in our lives. Be a blessing today.

In Him,
Pastor Fred

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