BELIEF IS EASY

As we move further into the 21st century I am confronted more and more by Christians demanding that I believe a certain way. They say “if you believe in the inerrant teaching of the Bible then you are a Christian”. Or if you believe as we do, as stated in our various position papers, you are “one of us”. Even worse, if you do not believe as we do then I am NOT a Christian. My own church has a statement up front and center on our web page entitled “what we believe”. Of course, there is a scriptural basis for the need to believe. As Jesus says in John 11:26,

“Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

The difficulty I have is with the word “believe”. Does our 21st century understanding of belief mean the same thing as it did in the 1st century, or did it mean something different to those listening to Jesus in person. Today people “believe” in a wide variety of things. Some believe that our bodies play host to disembodied aliens called "Thetans". Others believe in the power of crystals to heal the sick. I believe that most people are good people and should be treated as such. The problem with our modern notion of belief is that it is passive. Belief requires no effort on my part. Therefore I can “believe” in Jesus without having to expend any energy in doing so. Mere belief requires no action, no change in my way of life. 

Belief is easy. 

But is this what Jesus meant when he asked us to believe in Him or was he asking for much more?

Some scholars assert that the Greek word we translate as "believe" carries a much stronger connotation, more akin to "commit". What if this is true? What if Jesus is asking us to commit to Him rather than merely believe in Him? Unlike belief, commitment requires action. It requires us to translate our belief into tangible steps. To commit to Jesus means to commit to the way of life he espoused. What if Jesus is asking us to focus all of our being on bringing forth the Kingdom of God here on Earth? To love our enemies. To care for the poor and the sick. To love unconditionally. To treat our neighbors, in the broadest sense of the word, as ourselves. To not pass judgement on the lives of others. To resist the corporeal powers that seek to undermine the Kingdom through war, cruelty, indifference, and greed.

Adopting this definition of belief requires a radical realignment in our way of thinking. It requires us to inspect all aspects of our lives and make changes. No longer can we sit in our pews and feel comfortable in our belief. We must move out into our communities and work for the Kingdom that is here and now. We cannot wait passively for the Kingdom of belief that may await us after death. We must act. I believe this is what Jesus demands of us.