When You Believe …
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” John 8:31:36
One of my biggest cheerleaders unbeknownst to me was my big brother. I did not know much about him growing up because he was ten years older than me, and by the time I started to really know him, he was off to college. Years later, I would sit down with him just to talk about our growing up. We were so similar, and for the first time in my life, I realized what it was like to have someone like me in the world. I always admired him, and he would tell me that he always thought I was the smartest of the three siblings. “Me,” I questioned. While it was my parents who always believed in me, it was that little talk from my oldest brother that I started to believe in myself a bit more.
As I walked through the early years of adulthood life away from God and believing I would never be good enough, I still believed in the goodness of God. He was the standard by which my life was measured, and while I had failed to live up to His expectations, I still strived to live based on His principles of loving Him and others as I loved myself. In God’s plan, He knew me better than I did, and would give me a new life years after I had convinced myself that I would never be good enough. It is amazing what can happen when you believe.
Jesus claims those who believe in Him. When reading today’s verses, there was something that I did not notice when I read it previously. The part that focuses on Jesus’ speaking ‘to the people who believed in him,’ is important to note. He was giving words of encouragement to those who were already coming under scrutiny for believing that He was the Messiah. When the crowd replied, “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they were not lying. However, the previous verses spoke of who Jesus’ true audience was saying, “Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”” (John 8:28 NKJV) This distinguishes between those who did and did not believe in Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus clarifies the reward of those who do believe noting, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:36) This is the hope given to us through Jesus Christ. But the key of course is there must be belief. The church where I was baptized said a phrase that underlines what today’s verses are all about. They said, “If you believe, then you receive,” meaning that if we believe in Christ, we can truly receive God’s grace and are truly free from the bondage of sin.
God’s grace is truly sufficient for us. We might at times question why we should believe. However, when in doubt think of the time before Christ came into your life and the odd void that existed. Where would go? Who had the answers? How could you make it through? The more we believed in God to answer those tough questions, the more He rewarded that belief. Equally as important, the more we look back at our life experiences before knowing Him, we see more clearly how He actively protected and sought after us. That is how much He believed we were worth it. Let us embrace our continued belief in God’s all-powerful, all-being, and all-knowing ways. Where can your belief in God provide you comfort today? What does the freedom given by Jesus Christ mean to you? My prayer is that we realize all is possible through Jesus Christ when you believe. Amen.