Jesus Christ is your savior, my savior, and the savior of all mankind!
So what does it mean to believe in him?
Mark 9:21-24 (WEB) says,
21) He asked his father, "How long has it been since this has come to him?" He said, "From childhood. 22) Often it has cast him both into the fire and into the water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." 23) Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 24) Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, "I believe. Help my unbelief!"
The boy's father highlights a problem that is common among even the most mature Christians. We ought to believe in God with rock solid confidence, yet even the strongest Christian may have doubts. One response to the thesis that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind has been "I want to believe, but it seems too good to be true!" We should join the man above and ask God to help us overcome our unbelief!
Furthermore, some interpret this verse to mean that through "faith" we can accomplish whatever we determine. If this is true we would not only have "faith" in God, but we would also be God! This verse is not saying that we can always accomplish our will, but instead that through faith we can receive and always participate in God's will. In fact this misunderstanding of the meaning of "faith" is the heart of this generation's misunderstanding of the very gospel. "Faith" is not the condition to God's unconditional love, but instead faith is trust that God already loves us unconditionally! "Faith" never added one person to the Lamb's Book of Life, but instead faith opens our eyes to the rock solid fact that God has always loved his people. Do you doubt it? Ask God for help to overcome your unbelief!
Jude 22-23 (WEB) says,
22) On some have compassion, making a distinction, 23) and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
Efforts to tell others that Jesus is their Savior and the Savior of the world are often rejected. Sadly religion, tradition, and avoidance are always more popular than grace. This verse reminds us that the doubting are to be shown mercy. Jesus commands us to believe in him, to trust him with our entire lives. It is a good thing to question the ice before trusting it with your ice skates. Test Jesus and you will find that he does not change with the seasons, because "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8 WEB). He will never crack or melt in the heat, but instead is a solid rock! Friends, Jesus is so trustworthy it is a sin to not trust him, so get your questions answered and your doubts erased! Do not let your doubts turn you away from God.
John 20:24-29 (WEB) says,
24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. 25) The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." 26) After eight days again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, "Peace be to you." 27) Then he said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing." 28) Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29) Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed."
Even one of the twelve disciples who walked and talked with Jesus for three years doubted. The expression "doubting Thomas" lives on 2,000 years later in his honor. Yet this verse highlights Jesus' patience even with the doubting. Jesus is not intentionally obscure, but wants each of us to get to know him through faith. Ask God to show himself to you. But do not ask to see him and then be lazy or sleeping when he makes himself known. Do not ask to see him and then not be willing to shout to the world with Thomas, "My Lord and my God!"
Faith is not the condition to God's unconditional love. Faith is trusting that God loves us unconditionally because he loves all mankind. Believe in Jesus!
