Belief in the Light

Belief in the Light

“I, the light, have come into the world, so that whoever believes in me need not stay in the dark anymore.”  (John 12; 46)

Christ is the light of the world.  He spoke of faith in him as key to a relationship and benefit of the light.  What does belief in Jesus mean to me today?  When Christ spoke of belief in him to the people, how would the people listening to him understand him?  They would understand him in the context of the scriptures as claiming to be the awaited Messiah.  The scriptures had foretold the coming of the Messiah and shown his mission and end in some detail.  The audience of Jesus could ask themselves:  “What does the word of God say about the Christ?  Does this man before us fulfill that brief?”

Belief in Jesus means belief in the word of God about him.  For me today, that word is larger than what Christ’s audience knew.  Christ has extended the word of God through the New Testament.  I know more about Christ than his hearers in the first century.  I have the New Testament.  I also have the evidence of 2000 years of continuous witness to Jesus.  Does this put my faith on fire?  Lord Jesus, grant me a burning faith.