John 6:28-33
28 Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’
29 Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’
30 So they asked him, ‘What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’
32 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’
The idea that belief is a form of work is an intriguing one. So often belief is seen as something binary, you either believe or you don’t, you have it or you don’t. But here, Jesus describes it as something we constantly need to work on. This is because belief in the Bible is not merely assenting to an idea, but living on the basis of that idea; faith is worked out in our lives in practical solid ways. What aspects of your belief are you putting into practice right now? What areas of belief do you not put the effort into?
Father, forgive us when we say we believe, but our lives don’t back that up. Help us by your Spirit, to be alert to areas that we need to put some work into.
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