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February 09, 2007
FROM THE COUCH
From the Couch
I Believe
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
Every Sunday morning we confess our faith together by reciting the Apostle’s Creed. We always start with the same two words – “I believe”. They’re simple words. We probably didn’t concentrate on them too much when we recited the creed this past Sunday. But in these two simple words we find a wealth of meaning. In them we find the very way of salvation and the very foundation on which to build our lives. Let me explain -
First, belief in Jesus Christ is the way of salvation. The Apostle John explains – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12-13). The Apostle Paul says - “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
That’s easy enough. Now comes the more difficult part. What does it really mean to believe in Jesus Christ? We wrestled with this question in confirmation class last week. We read Luther’s catechism and found that to “believe” in Jesus Christ is to know and to trust in Him as Savior (Q #117). I think that’s a pretty good definition of faith. We have to know and understand the truth of who Jesus claims to be, and we have to accept that it’s true. Then comes the hard part - we have to trust Him with our lives. This is easier said than done! Let me illustrate - In the 19th century there was a French acrobat named Jean Francois Gravelet. Everyone called him Blondin because of his fair skin. He was famous for walking across Niagara Falls on a tightrope, doing all kinds of crazy stunts along the way. Once he carried his manager across the falls on his back. When he got to the other side, he turned to a man in the crowd and asked, “Do you believe that I can do that with you?” The man agreed that he could. “Hop on”, said Blondin. “Not on your life”, replied the man. He believed in his head that Blondin could do what he claimed he could do, but he wasn’t willing to trust Blondin with his life. The same stakes apply when we “believe” in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We have to trust that He really is who he claims to be, and then we have to “hop on” and enjoy the ride!
My prayer for you this week is that you live each moment of your life by faith in Jesus Christ. I pray that you will find security and comfort in believing that as you “hop on” His back, He will carry you through life and He will get you safely to the other side.
Pastor Steve
Posted by Jennifer Herrmann at February 9, 2007 11:55 AM