Scripture
Our verse for today comes from John 14:11, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”
Background
The job of the lobbyist and the politician and the lawyer must be exhausting. Trying to convince people all day every day of something they do not necessarily believe in would be exasperating to the point of futility. And so often facts and evidence are not enough. Eye witness accounts, verifiable statistics, sound reasoning, and good old common sense all can fall on the deafest of ears, even outside the world of politics or the courtroom. And deafening those ears, as much as we may not like to admit it, are preferences and personal agendas and preconceived notions that may never give way to the biggest of sledgehammers. In the upper room, Jesus entreated His followers to believe what He was saying, that He and the Father were one, that if you had seen Jesus, you had seen God Almighty. But if they would not, He begs them to believe on account of the works themselves. I can picture Jesus pleading with the disciples, His hands clinching the front of His garment, perhaps still wet and soiled from washing their dirty feet, longing for them to believe He and the Father are in one another. Take His face out of it, He seems to say. Forget about what everybody else is saying. Place no account on Him being just a carpenter’s son. Simply look at the results: sickness and disease healed, dead bodies resurrected, miracles of science and nature, wisdom beyond explanation, and all for God’s glory. Let these deeds speak for themselves and affirm the person and deity of Jesus the Christ.
Application
You either believe Jesus or you don’t. He is your Lord and Master or He is not. He is king or you are. Jesus spent a lot of time busting the bubbles of people who thought they had a relationship with God, but how they lived out their lives was not indicative of saving faith. Nothing could strike at the heart of one’s faith more than hearing your Savior was about to die. So when your storm blows in and the challenge arises, let that testing have its perfect work and grow in you a stronger faith, a real faith, rooted and grounded in the risen Lord.
Charge
As we seek Him today, let what you believe guide and direct your steps, and let your steps reflect what you say you believe.
Author – Rich Holt | BCWorldview.org
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