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Believe

          When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
          Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
          Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
        Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:25-29)
          Usually, I’m among those who insist that one can’t work one’s way to heaven, but this passage requires that I modify that view a little bit. When the people asked Jesus (as they had asked John, and as they no doubt asked every teacher) “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus didn’t say, “Nothing.” He said, “believe in the one he has sent.” It that is the answer, then it seems important to understand what it means to believe.
          Years ago, an evolutionist proclaimed on TV that he does not believe in evolution. Evolution simply is. It exists. That is a moot (debatable) point, but he was saying something else that is important. What does it mean that he doesn’t believe in evolution, but that evolution simple is? It seems to mean that belief is something separate from reality. It’s like saying that one doesn’t believe in gravity because everyone knows that gravity exists. Just jump, you’ll prove it to yourself.
          If I didn’t believe in gravity, jumping would not prove it to me. There might be some other explanation for the fact that I hit the ground. I would find it necessary to tether myself like astronauts on a spacewalk because there would be no knowing when I would suddenly simply float off into space. Instead, I completely trust, and sometimes despair, that Newton was right. I believe in gravity because of the evidence I have seen that it exists.
          Belief is not, or at least is not necessarily, done in the absence of evidence. The other thing about belief is that it is productive. If I believe it is going to rain, I’m likely to at least consider taking an umbrella. If I don’t believe it is going to rain I don’t take an umbrella. Belief has to do with doing and with obeying. My suggestion is that if you consistently don’t do what Jesus said, you don’t believe Him or believe in Him. This is a standard set throughout Scripture. If we believe, we keep His commandments. If we believe, we follow His principles and His example.
          Do I believe? Not as much as I would like to.

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