Scriptural Reference:
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name.
John 20:31

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1

For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
John 6:47

Reflection:
The Chinese have a saying which is both a blessing and a curse.

"May you live in interesting times"

We surely do live in such interesting times. With some many wonders and amazing things now made possible; and yet so many still suffer in poverty and wars still rumble around the globe. It's no wonder people are bewildered at the sights and sounds that constantly rage around them. Demanding they acknowledge them and accept what they are saying. Media celebrities and politicians both post a wide range of claims and positions that are meant to draw people to them. Claiming to be the real deal, the whole truth and the best way to live if the only believe what they are selling.

As Christians we are also called to believe in something bigger and greater than ourselves. We are told the story of Jesus the Christ in the Bible and warned of the consequences of not trusting in the Lord as our only true hope of salvation. Yes, we are called to have faith in Jesus the Christ and we are promised to have life through His name. Yet this faith is in something that is intangible and unseen. It is a faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We can see all around us the many promises that the world makes every day. Buy this and be trendy, wear that and be fashionable or promote this and be accepted. Yet with each of these worldly promises comes a price tag. An undeclared expectation that we should in the end pay for believing the promotion.

In the Bible we are promised the gift of life and a life hereafter. For some this sounds just like any other promise and call to believe something. Yet the very core of Christianity is vastly different from all other belief systems. In Christianity God is born as a man and becomes fully human through Jesus the Christ. Almost all other religions teach that humans must work their way toward divinity, our salvation is founded in Gods' pure love and Grace for us. We can read what John Wesley said when he defined grace as God's "bounty, or favour: his free, undeserved favour, ... man having no claim to the least of his mercies". An acceptance and calling of us all to return to God and be reconciled through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ.

The world will continue to make temporal and tarnished promises that will decay and fall away as all earthly things will do; it's God who can make a perfect promise that will resound and stand all of time. So who will you place you trust in? What will you believe or not?

Prayer:

Lord,
So many voices speak of things,
Promised and yet not guaranteed.
I will hold to your promise,
In a Grace that is assured.

In your name alone will I trust,
Holding fast to my Salvation,
In your Holy and Revered Name,
Looking forward to Heaven.

Amen