What are your beliefs? Do you believe in right and wrong? Do you believe there is a proper way to go about living your life? Or do you go with the flow, following whatever the popular trend of the moment is? Do you believe in the Son of God and follow Him and His teachings?
Many of us can quote, or at least paraphrase, John 3:16. We know that it states that whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life. But if we only read that one verse, and do not continue reading or fully understand it, we fall into a false belief.
The Greek word translated as believe in John 3:16 and today’s passage, does not mean to believe in the sense that we believe the sun will come up tomorrow. No, it is a much deeper belief than that. It is not a flippant belief but a trust, correct perception, and conviction.
If we are convicted that Jesus is the Son of God, we don’t continue our lives as-is. We ask God to change us into the person he wants us to be. We seek to learn as much as we can about Jesus. We desire to follow Him, wherever He leads us. Being convicted includes a strong commitment to what we are convicted of.
Think about it this way. When we commit to a profession, something we truly love and believe in, we work hard to know our craft inside and out. We desire to succeed in our chosen profession. We continually seek to do things better, be more efficient, produce a better product. That is the conviction John tells us about in his gospel when he speaks of believing in Jesus. Therefore, our belief must be more than a few simple words. Our belief must go to the core of our being.
I pray we all believe in Jesus. I pray we have a conviction that He is the Son of God. I pray each one of us will commit to knowing more about Jesus and commit to following His teachings. Believe in Jesus. Be committed to Him. Seek to follow His teachings. Be convicted.
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Marty Pressey 