The Measure of Belief

Belief is not enough.

In John 12 many leaders believed in Jesus, but they would not confess their faith because of the consequences. Because they loved the praise of man more than the praise of God (v.43). 

We have to accept Jesus as Lord over our hearts. To not only believe that He has saved and will save but to surrender to Him as Savior. 

We can know the truth and believe it too, but if we do not surrender our hearts to it (or to Him), we cannot be saved by it. Because our faith is based on more than belief.

But this is good news.

Because if belief is not all, our unbelief is not the end.

Our lives are riddled with unbelief. With the things we know but don't feel. With things we don't understand and cannot make sense of. With doubts caused by pitting what we see against what we cannot even imagine and yet are asked to believe. Our belief is so small and finite, and yet there is no shame in our unbelief. As the man says in Mark 9, "I believe; help my unbelief," and Jesus does not wait for a more resolute or resilient statement of faith to answer his request.

Jesus works in our unbelief. He invites us into belief constantly, but we do not have to pass a threshold of certainty for Him to work in, around, through, and for us. I heard once that doubt is not the opposite of faith but certainty, and yet so many of us our crippled by our unbelief, fearing that we cannot be saved because of it. But God holds space for our doubts, uncertainties, and disbelief. Because our faith has never been about our ability to believe.

Our faith has never rested on us. God alone holds us secure in all the ebbs and flows of our heart, in the strength of our belief and in its weakness. Our faith is not in our hands; it never has been. We believe, and He helps us in our unbelief. We love, and He helps us in our failure to love. We serve and steward, and He helps us in our selfishness and idolatry. We succeed and we fail, but our God is greater and our faith does not depend on our success but only on His. We do not strive in belief but surrender to His covenantal love.