Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Blunt Statement of Faith



John 11:25-26
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

            This statement comes from the lips of Jesus. It is powerful and simple. He claims two essential things in this statement: First, if you believe in him you will live eternally, and second, if you believe in him while you’re living you will truly live. In other words, you will truly live life to the fullest. Now let me ask you something, what do you live for? What is the thing that you want most out of life? Is it love, money, cars, women, men, degrees, etc.? I am currently studying religion and when I find a believer in a certain faith; I ask myself why they are doing it. Why are they there believing this teaching? Many times it is for personal escape, comfort, peace, acceptance, and so on. Essentially, it is a lot of the time for selfish motivations.  I’m not trying to judge, just trying to observe. My point is that the selfish ambition is found not only in the secular world but in the religious one also. So once again, what are you living for? Does this reason for living, bring you life that is comparable to the life Jesus proclaims that you receive when you believe in him? Does it give you meaning and utter fulfillment or does it leave you empty inside? I just wanted to challenge you to look at yourself and your ambitions to see if you fall in this category.
            So what’s the purpose of this verse in this little spiel I have? The point is that this verse really is a blunt statement of faith. Jesus is stating who he is and what he does in a believer’s life. He give fulfillment and eternal life to an individual. He gives purpose and meaning.  So I must leave you off with the same question he does. Do you believe this statement of Jesus? Do you believe that he is the resurrection and the life? Do you believe that whoever believes in him will live after death? Do you believe that those who live for him will have fulfillment and true meaning? Or do you think that this statement is just a load of sun soaking cow manure?

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