Trees Walking

Believers don't always truly believe.

I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he has promised us, eternal life. - 1 John 2:21-25

John doesn't pull any punches.  He says it straight.  Either you believe or you don't.  It's as simple as that.

There is no doubt in his mind that Jesus is the Christ, and he says there should be no doubt in our minds as well, or else we are deniers of the faith.

If we believe that this is the same John who walked with Jesus and witnessed him rising from the dead, then of course he would be that sure of himself.

But it is not an easy thing to explain to people, that we believe in eternal life with the Father and Son, not to mention the Holy Spirit, which we believe is always with us through life as well as in death.

So, chances are, we don't share our faith with others.  Does that mean we don't truly believe?

I know some people who say it is better to believe, just in case it turns out to be true, for if it isn't true, it won't matter.

I guess that strategy makes sense, but I think we miss out o something if we are not all in. 

John tells us to let what we have heard abide in us.  It is not just saying we believe, but living a life in Christ that matters.  We can't do that unless we truly believe.

It reminds me of the blind man that Jesus cured.  At first he could only see shadows of people, like trees walking.  He was not all in.  He was partly cured, partly transformed.

We are like that when we don't fully commit.  We are like trees walking, not getting the full picture of an eternal life, a life that begins now.

So, as we approach Lent, let us consider our faith and dig deeper into what it means to believe. 

It is one thing to follow Jesus, doing what he said, and another to live believing he is truly God.

It shouldn't be hard to say.

More to come...