“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16
Just Believe
That’s it. That’s the center of our faith. It doesn’t have to be complicated. We don’t have to do anything special to earn God’s love or his favor. He loves us—period. Does He require us to jump through hoops or perform certain acts before saving us from ourselves and our sin? Nope. All we have to do (and I mean all) is “believe in Him.”
But what exactly does it mean to “believe” in Jesus? Romans 10:9 tells us that, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” So how do we know that we know that we know that Jesus was the son of God and rose from the dead? We didn’t live back then. We didn’t physically meet Jesus. And we can’t carry on a literal back-and-forth conversation with Him. How can we believe in something and someone we can’t see? Great question! I’m glad you asked.
Like the Wind
Have you ever heard someone explain their faith in the Lord as being like the wind? You can’t see the wind, but you can feel it and see its effects. I find this to be a great analogy. There have been times in my life that I was worried or concerned and nothing anyone said to me could make me feel better. No human could fix it or convince me that everything would be okay. But when I took it to God in prayer, I suddenly felt peace. I felt like everything would be okay. Even if by the world’s standards, it didn’t turn out “okay,” I was okay. And I still felt God’s arms around me. There’s nothing more real than that.
You know, accepting Christ to come into your heart doesn’t have to be some booming moment that involves a fire-and-brimstone preacher, a holy rolling choir, or a million hands being laid on you. My husband accepted Christ while he was in the chemistry lab of his grad school. We had been talking on the phone for a while and I spoke to him about my faith. I didn’t push it on him—I just shared it with him. Later that evening, he simply had a conversation with God where he said something to the effect of, “God, I don’t know much about you or being a Christian, but I think I’d like to experience what Annie has experienced.” And with that simple prayer, his life changed forever.
For YOU
This Easter season, let’s focus on how Jesus made it easy for us to accept Him. He went through everything He did so all we’d have to do is believe in Him to enjoy life with Him now and forever. He did the hard part and it was all just because He loves us. If you don’t have another person you can count on, know that He loved YOU so much that He died for you—and that’s a powerful kind of love.