What Deserves To Be Believed?

This question came up last Sunday at church. Quite honestly, I can’t shake it. The question itself is deep. It’s been showing up as I drive from here to there, as I’m cutting the grass, or again this morning as I rolled out of bed. This article is my attempt to settle it in my head, but I have a feeling I’ll be revisiting this question time and again for the remainder of my life. 

The topic surrounding belief was in context of our current cultural moment. Not only are ideologies and belief systems growing and changing each year, but we now have a new contender for our trust and belief - Ai.  Our access to knowledge has grown beyond our wildest imaginations. Sometimes it’s fun to think about former generations, and what reactions they would have if given the opportunity to peer into our modern world.

Let’s review what’s available to each of us reading today. Current event information across the entire globe, intimate personal advice, thousands of years of historical event recall, language translation, up to date medical data, immediate picture recognition, just to name a few. The big kicker? This is not housed in a static location for just a select group…it’s mobile and in just about every citizen’s pocket. 

We’re living through rapid times. The world has always been in a state of change, but today the pace of change is moving at a speed that’s difficult to keep up with. We’ll each be faced with the decision of where to place our trust, and what belief system we’ll wash things through to guide our lives as they continue forward. 

Do not forget – our first and most important work is this question of belief. Want proof? Open your Bibles to John chapter 6. 

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent.”  - John 6:28-29

There is a lot of good news to report regarding this topic. The church is seeing a revival among younger generations. We have recent data regarding young men returning to faith in numbers not seen in years. This is very encouraging. The foundation of God’s word and the hope of the Gospel is as compelling today as it’s ever been. This question of belief is not new.  But the circumstances and competition for our belief sure is. It’s easy to think that our current moment is more fantastical or more difficult to navigate. We can see how our world has made a compelling argument for why something other than God should be trusted. We think the times we’re living in are more advanced or challenging when it comes to belief.

They’re not. Let’s review two examples from the word of God.

In John Chapter 6 we see Jesus describe himself as the Bread of Life. This teaching ends with many disciples and followers turning away. Let’s think about that for just a second. Walking away from Jesus to his face. Most of these followers likely traveled a distance to hear him speak. This comes after hearing or witnessing the feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. Hearing of miracles and demons being cast out. Why was this teaching so difficult to believe? 

In John 6:47-51 Jesus says “Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.  I am the bread of life. Your ancestors at the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.  But here is the bread that comes down from Heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from Heaven.  Whoever eats this bread will live forever.  This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Many turned away based on these words. Jesus continued on, “The words I have spoken to you – they are full of Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”

This question of what deserves to be believed is not new. It is not more difficult today. It has changed, but the teaching above is arguably more difficult to accept than what we face having full knowledge of the resurrection of Christ.

Now let’s look at two examples of how personal this is to each of us. We must each answer this question for ourselves, in our own hearts. Merely standing in a church side by side with others is not enough. We must each make a personal decision around what we believe.

Let’s look to Luke chapter 9 for this guidance.  As Jesus prayed in a private place, his disciples came to him. In verse 18 he asks them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”  They respond with what others have said. Their answers ranged from John the Baptist, to Elijah, or one of the prophets that has returned to life. 

Then Jesus asks the question that I believe is asked to ALL of us. It wasn’t about the crowd. The answer couldn’t be borrowed from someone else. 

“But what about you? He asked. “Who do YOU say that I am?” 

Peter answers that Jesus is the Messiah. Each of us will be faced with this question. Peter and the others witnessed the miracles. They had traveled and gotten to know Jesus in the flesh. We may think that would make it easy for them to answer in the way Peter did. What about us? We have historical context of the resurrection. We have the full New Testament that we enjoy reading every day!  We have far more to go on than Peter did that day…yet the question remains.  Who do we say that Jesus is, and is this where we place our belief?

Ok…Just one more. 

The death of Lazarus is recorded in John Chapter 11. Jesus loved Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha.  As he makes his way toward Bethany, he is met by each of these women in two separate interactions.  Jesus tells Martha in verse 23, “Your brother will rise again.” She initially believes that Jesus is talking about the resurrection on the last day, but then the question comes to Martha just as it came to the disciples in our previous example.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”  - John 11:25-26

Do you believe this.  Do YOU believe this? 

Martha replies, “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is come into the world.”

Today we know the end of this story.  Lazarus is raised from the dead. 

Belief has always been a critical point of life. What we believe matters. It matters a lot. Our ultimate end rests fully upon it. Yes, we have an ever-present distraction and growing competitor in our modern world.  The same goes for those before us. At the time of Christ they were also faced with things unheard of and impossible.

Imagine hearing of massive crowds being fed with five loaves and two fish.  Imagine hearing of a man dead for 4 days and wrapped in a tomb being raised up with one command.  Imagine seeing and hearing the ways that Jesus described who he was. Could you believe it?  While the ancients would have marveled at our growing use of electronic technologies, we would have marveled at the ways God showed up and defied the physical constraints we believe impossible in the material world.  

God is at work today just as he has always been. Just as many at the time of Christ denied it, justified it as a deception, coerced those in power to shut it down, or tried to capitalize on it for gain…we have to decide for ourselves what side of this we’re on. 

As we sit with this throughout the weekend, I’d encourage us all to chew on two questions.

#1 – Is any of my faith a function of the crowd, or is it truly my own belief deep inside my heart?

#2 – Who do I say that Jesus is? Who have I told about him lately?

As we continue forward through our modern time, we have challenges and we have opportunities, just like every generation before us. This question transcends time, and we must answer it again.  What deserves to be believed?  Jesus deserves all glory, honor, and praise. But the question of our belief is 100% up to us.  What do you believe?

-Mark