Believe what you read

Believe what you read

“I tell you most solemnly, whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life; without being brought to judgment he has passed from death to life.”  (John 5: 24)

Jesus is saying that two things are required in order to start enjoying eternal life here and now.  First, we must listen to words of Jesus in the Gospel.  He added elsewhere that we must believe in these words, dwell in it and act on it.  When we do this, then we believe also in the Father who sent Jesus.

But what is eternal life?  It consists here and now in true knowledge of the Father and Jesus Christ.  True knowledge of the Father comes from the acceptance of what the Father has revealed about himself.  For example, “Yahweh, Yahweh, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness.”  (Exodus 34: 6 – 7)  The Father wants his adopted children to know him as tender, loving, compassionate, faithful, kind and infinitely patient.  Belief in such a God already constitutes eternal life here and now.  Such a belief provides a powerful paradigm for daily and constant victories in life.

Belief comes from listening to the words of Jesus in the Gospels and in the Bible.

Lord Jesus, help us to believe what we read, to teach what we believe and to practice what we teach.