HOPE FOR TODAY: What it Means to Believe

Jesus, God’s only Son, was miraculously raised from the dead around A.D. 35 and still lives today. One of His disciples was a little skeptical. He was known as Doubting Thomas. Jesus appeared to him saying, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 10:27). Thomas responded “My Lord and my God!” (John 21:28). How many of us are like Thomas having sincere doubts?

Do you believe in President Abraham Lincoln? You may respond, “Yeah. I’ve read about him and seen pictures. He was a good man and one of our greatest Presidents.” However, what if I say, “Do you believe in Jesus?” The definition of “belief” in regard to Jesus is much different. The biblical synonym is “trust”. A good definition for belief in Jesus would be a “self-surrendering trust in the person of Christ”. One of the major reasons He died and rose again was that we might believe in Him.

Is Jesus calling us to believe (or trust) in Him, simply because He viewed Himself as a good man? He fed the hungry, cared for the sick, reached out to the minorities of his day and taught with unequaled wisdom. Indeed, He was a good man. The greatest that ever lived. However, if Jesus was just a good man that puts Him in the “created being” class (along with angels and humans). If that is true, how can we entrust our eternal soul and the weight of our entire being in His care?

Jesus’ death and resurrection changed everything. The blood that was shed during His torturous death provided for the forgiveness of sin for all mankind. Only one being in the universe has the sole authority and power to forgive sin. God. The Creator of heaven and earth. Jesus was not just a man. He was the one true God in human form. Additionally, only God has ultimate power over the cords of death. When Jesus rose again from the dead to never die again, He proved He was not just a man but was Deity! He was and still is the most Holy, most Righteous and most High God.

Jesus was calling Thomas, along with you and me to a self-surrendering trust in Him as Almighty God. He is worthy of our trust. He has proved it. May Jesus be your hope for today.