What is Belief in Jesus?

It’s not that I don’t believe is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I do. But belief is something that means so much more than we commonly like to admit. For the longest time I was taught that belief was something easy, something cheap, and something casual; it was easy to believe. It seemed like if you asked anyone around me if they believed in Jesus, they would respond with a casual “yea sure”.

I feel like most people say they believe in an abstract sort of way, but then they don’t really. I didn’t know that believing is a difficult process; nobody told me. We set it up as though it was a one-time deal where you “believed” and then went on about your life with a little Jesus mixed in. As long as this is how we define belief, it is the easiest thing in the world to believe. All I have to do now is go to church on Sundays and give a little money to the church and I am “saved”.

Francis Chan used an example in his sermon that really helped me understand this. While preaching he placed a balloon on a wall, aimed a Beebe gun at it, and asked how many people in the congregation “believed” that he would hit the balloon on the first try. 75% of them raised their hands. Then he asked how many of those 75% would be willing to hold the balloon in their hands while he shot it. 25% of them said they would. Then he asked how many people would be willing to come up and put the balloon in their teeth, turn sideways, and let him shoot the balloon. Only 5 people total were willing to do it.

So here is my question: did those 75% really believe, or were they just saying they did? What does it matter if you say you believe, but aren’t really willing to back it up? If you totally believe that Francis will hit the balloon on the first shot, then it isn’t risky to put it in your teeth. If, however, you are only saying you believe, but aren’t really sure what you think, then there is no way you would do it!

So let me get this straight. We claim to believe that there is this guy named Jesus who wasn’t just a guy, but was actually God incarnate. We claim to believe that this God/man loves us, and was willing to come die on a cross to make it possible for our relationship to be repaired with Him. We claim to believe that when we die, we will stand before Him and He will judge our lives based on how loving or un-loving we were towards Him and people. We claim to believe that Jesus’ death on the cross offers us freedom from the guilt and condemnation that we deserve in which we would be in the torments of hell for eternity. We claim to believe that because of what He did, we can have the promise of perfect relationship with Him and His people for forever and ever. We claim to believe that we have been invited in as sons and daughters, and that we get to take part in what God is doing here in building His kingdom. And here is the kicker: WE CLAIM TO BELIEVE THAT ALL OF THIS IS FOR REAL! We claim to believe that very shortly we are going to be standing before Jesus and then eternity will ensue for us!

I’m sorry. I just don’t feel like I see many people who really believe this. Sometimes I look at my life and wonder how much I really do! I mean if I really fully believe it, wouldn’t my life be totally different? If I believe it, wouldn’t I not care at all about my life here and just be totally obsessed with my God and building His kingdom? If I believe it, wouldn’t I tell everyone about it? If I believe it, wouldn’t I be so deeply satisfied by my Creator’s love that I wasn’t still seeking it out in so many ways here on this earth? If I believe it, wouldn’t I be willing to undergo suffering and hardship for this short amount of time so that I can love God and others more fully in preparation for what is to come. If I believe it, wouldn’t I not care that much about comfort, security, and a nice little life down here because of what is in store for me in eternity?

Seriously, this stuff makes me sick to my stomach. I believe in Jesus, but not enough. But I am realizing that belief is a process. Paul writes to the people of Thessalonica in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” The very implication of Paul saying that their “faith is growing more and more” is that faith/belief is not a one-time deal, or a completed process while we are here. Belief in Jesus is something that needs to develop in the face of doubt, struggle, questions, etc., because there is a reason it is called faith in the first place. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The reality is that we can’t see God because He had to pull away from His creation because of our sin. He is intimately and passionately involved in our daily lives to be sure, but we can't yet see Him in all of His glory, seated upon the throne with all of the angels and saints singing before Him. So we must undergo the process of having true faith: striving towards being sure of what we hope for, which is Jesus’ return and salvation.

Is that really what all of your and my hope is in though? Would you say that your hope is fully set on Jesus’ return and salvation? Or is it in meeting an amazing spouse? Or is it in having a great family? Or is it in having a nice career? Or is it in retiring early and traveling the world?

You see this is what I mean: we act like we don’t really believe. So many of us are setting ourselves up for something really ugly by not really believing. We will have a nice marriage. A nice family. A nice career. A nice house in a nice neighborhood. A nice retirement. And then a nice memorial service. And then comes judgment and eternity based on what we believed in this life.

Putting our hope in Jesus means that if He isn’t real, we are in deep crap. If we were gamblers, it means that we would take all of our money and let it ride on Him being the truth. Are we really willing to do that? After all, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” But so many of us have really nice lives with plenty of hope in this world just in case Jesus isn’t real. If we put our hope/joy/satisfaction in that, do we really believe then? 1 John 2:4 says “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

I recently got into a discussion with a couple of new friends of mine at Ohio State who are atheists. Now I obviously feel strongly that they should believe in Jesus and follow Him with all of their lives, but at least they are willing to admit that they don’t believe. I can respect that. I am scared for them and what eternity will look like for them, but by admitting that they don’t believe, I think God has more room to change their lives and draw them to Himself. After all, Jesus says that He would rather have someone be cold than be lukewarm. So let’s just be real about who/what we really believe in.

I will be the first to admit that I suck at practically believing in Him, but the great thing is that I know my Jesus is bigger than all that and He is faithful to bring me through my lack of belief. I will not allow myself to doubt His love for me in the midst of my struggle and failure, because His faithfulness is not predicated on my perfection. I know my baptism, repentance, profession of faith, and following Jesus was and is for real, and that He is still saving me from my unbelief and sin. That is the thing about faith; it is hard. It is hard to believe that Jesus still loves me, is saving me, and will come to rescue me knowing how much I don’t trust/believe/love Him.

I was in tears several times a few days ago because of all this. It is so frustrating being here without Jesus’ physical presence. Even though it is hard and painful, I want to just run after Him with my whole life, leaving behind all the things that seek to hold me back and keep me in bondage. I want nothing else besides Him, even though my life often paints a different picture.

There was this guy in Mark 9 who’s son had an evil spirit in him. He says to Jesus, “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." Jesus responded by saying, “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes." Then the man said: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Lord Jesus, I do believe in you; help me overcome my unbelief!