A Different Mindset
John 6:28,29 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (NRSV)
I don’t know about you, but I have this objective to become a better person as time goes on – little by little, day by day – to deal with my foibles and failures, so that … well, I end up being more and more like Jesus.
And that’s not a bad objective. Sure, sometimes it’s one step forward, two steps back. But come on, we should be honest about our weaknesses. We should confront our propensity to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
Not just to become more Christ-like (although for anyone who believes in Jesus, for anyone who wants to follow Him, to be His disciple, that should be the aim of the game) but also, at a very practical level, because our foibles, failures, mistakes … sin, have their consequences. They ruin our lives and our relationships.
But there’s a line there somewhere that we cross over all too easily… that line between a heart desire to be like more and more like Jesus, and the land of legalism; this notion that being “a Christian” is all about following the rules.
A bunch of people who, it seems, wanted to honour God with all their hearts, asked Jesus an interesting question, to which He gave an interesting reply:
John 6:28,29 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (NRSV)
Your job, my job, it seems, isn’t principally to work hard at becoming a better person. What Jesus really wants us to do is to believe in Him day by day, so that in doing so, little by little, we become more like Him.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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