The word belief means to commit or trust, and it’s used in two different ways:
The weak sense of belief merely means “I think so.” We say, “I believe it is going to rain” when we don’t know for sure. But if it does rain, and if we had good reason for thinking it would, then we may say we knew it. So we often use belief as a first step toward knowledge. This is what James means when he says even demons believe that there is one God (James 2:19). They know that Yahweh is the only God, but they don’t fully acknowledge this knowledge.
Then there’s the second meaning for belief. This belief, that saves, goes beyond simple knowledge and commits our whole being to what we know is true. Paul expressed this higher faith when he said, “I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him” (2 Timothy 1:12). Martin Luther explained that this saving faith is “a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times.”
Indiana Jones chose to commit to the Grail, so he entered the temple and retrieved the healing water for his father. What do you believe? How does it affect the way you live before a world that needs God’s healing touch?
This post was written by Mark Witmer for Our Daily Journey of RBC Ministries. For more information, go to: http://ourdailyjourney.org
BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.