John 3:35-36 promises that whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on God’s everything. Sounds juicy doesn’t it? All you have to do is accept and trust Jesus. That’s easy. Anyone could do that, you’d think.
I never stop to wonder, really, that Jesus’ invitation to people bore mainly on two things: accepting Him and trusting Him. Whenever He requested a following, His massage was usually brief. He never went into complex details. He simply asked for acceptance and trust. Even when the apostles began their ministerial work, they called people to a relationship with God through Jesus by telling them to accept the One that was sent and believe He is the Son of God that takes their sins away. Even John the Baptist said the same thing, in fact, the above scriptural text were his words.
But I wonder if that simple message is still relevant today. Too many people know a lot about Jesus. His name is used everywhere now (even as a swear word). Growing up as a child, I believed the name of Jesus was so sacred, if I called it in a bad dream, the tormenting spirit would flee, and it always did. But now I hear Jesus even in the mouths of people who don’t give a hoot about what He stands for. And am sure if I ask around, many people believe He ‘was’ a powerful person and that at one point or the other, they have accepted him in their lives.
But why isn’t there a change in some people? Is the power of Jesus in changing people’s lives growing weaker? If people claim to believe in Jesus and that they have accepted Him, why then is the world going from bad to worse on a daily basis? What could be missing?
Luke 13:26-27 (MSG) gives a vivid response: “You’ll protest, ‘But we’ve known you all our lives!’ only to be interrupted with his abrupt, ‘Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don’t know the first thing about me.’
Jesus said those words. He predicted these days thousands of years ago. He knew a time like this would come when people would hang around Him because it is the in thing, not because they truly want to forsake their old ways or let go of who they are to allow Him make them become who He is. You see, Jesus is not fashionable, to some people. How misguided they are. Jesus predates the past and foretells the future. Our tomorrow is His yesterday. Learn from a person that timeless how to live and you’ll never be lost.
The simple message is still very relevant today: accept Jesus (forget yourself long enough to) and believe in Him (trust Him to make your life more meaningful than you can ever make it). Let go of your life and you will save it.
Let him/her who has eyes to read, use them.
Selah!
