Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent. John 6:29
I watched as a judge in a Saint John courtroom called the lawyers for both sides to stand and discuss a date for sentencing. After a particularly heated trial, the judge had found the defendant guilty, and now he wanted to know when the lawyers would be available to discuss an appropriate sentence. The prosecutor was flexible, and told the judge so. The defendant’s lawyer, however, wanted to wait awhile. He told the judge, ‘With all due respect, your honour, we intend to appeal this conviction’. The witty judge replied, ‘You aren’t showing much respect when you speak of appealing my ruling’. We live in a world today that is just like that lawyer, professing some respect for God but challenging everything He says in His word.
Jesus makes it plain in our text that any relationship we have with God is based on belief. We cannot do anything for a God we don’t believe in or Whose Word we don’t accept. Many of the religious organizations we see around us no longer accept the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God. Others pick and choose what portions of Scripture they will accept as being from God. Many of the people in leadership roles in these organizations reject the deity of Jesus Christ, and some of them doubt the existence of God or consider the belief in God to be non-essential. Is it any wonder that these people sink further and further into irrelevancy and ineffectiveness? As believers, we need to be aware that our effectiveness for the Lord Jesus is based entirely on our belief in Him.
Think of the Christians you know who are effective in their service for their Lord, the ones with good testimonies in their neighbourhoods and work environments, the ones who are respected for their godly character and their example in the Assembly. I think you will find that these are the people who know the Word of God the best and who follow it the closest. These are the folks who base their life’s decisions on the Word of God and on the examples that the Lord Jesus set for us.
If the most important work you and I can do today is for God, the most important considerations for us are whether we are doing that work in the acceptance of His Word, and in obedience to His commands. -Jim MacIntosh