1/25/11 - "Believing In" Christ

 

 

John 11:25-27

 

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 

 

She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

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This is an exchange between Jesus and Martha, just prior to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  In it, Jesus tells Martha that "whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live...." 

 

Over the last couple of years, I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about exactly what does it mean to "believe in" Christ.  That might seem like a simple statement, but I think that when you got down to it, a lot of people would differ on what that actually means. 

 

I think "believing in" Christ means more than believing that he was a person, or believing that he said wise things, or even believing that he was the Son of God.  The Bible is clear that even the demons believed that.

 

Think of a great leader -- anyone from Gandhi to Vince Lombardi.  How did people respond to that leader?

 

In my workplace, we spend a lot of time on developing leaders, and what an effective leader "looks like" to his team.  A leader is someone who can take a group from Point A to Point B.  When someone "believes in" a leader, the relationship is far deeper than just knowing the leader's name, or his appearance, or his resume.  He trusts the leader.  He is inspired by the leader. He relies on the leader to guide him.  He knows that what the leader says is true.  He knows that the leader knows what's right for him.  He's comfortable going to the leader for advice.  When the leader tells him to do something, he does it, because he's confident in the leader's direction.

 

Just the other day I realized that if I "believe in Christ", I should feel all of this.  All of this and more, because Christ is the greatest leader of all!