John 5
One of the challenges of doing devotions
like these is making sure that this time does not become a purely academic
pursuit. Reading the Bible is about more than knowledge – although knowledge is
good – it is about believing. And while “believe” and “know” can be used
synonymously, they are not the same. The goal of this time is not so much “to
know” as it is “to believe.”
We place a very high premium on knowing things.
We pride ourselves on unraveling the mysteries of the universe. But what we are
dealing with when we read the word is not just facts, data, formulas, dates,
and events. God’s Word is more than a list of prescriptions we learn and apply
appropriately like theorems in geometry. Remember, John says that the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us. This Word is more than words – it is one of
the ways Jesus is present for us.
Devotions are a time to be with Jesus –
and Jesus makes it pretty clear that being with Him connects us also to the
Father (and in other places we find that it is the Spirit who makes the faith
in us that connects us to all three Persons of the Trinity). What we are doing
is spending time with Jesus in His Word (in Him Who is the Word) not just to
know about Him, or even to know Him. (There is an important distinction between
knowing someone and knowing about them.) Our goal is to hear Jesus and believe
Him.
The Pharisees knew God’s Word. They had
to memorize whole books to be considered a Pharisee. Notice that Jesus didn’t
criticize them for their lack of knowledge, but He confronts them because they
did not believe. He says, “… if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for
he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my
words?”
It is not knowledge that saves us from
our sins, but faith; faith in the one and only Son of God who dwelt among us,
did His Father’s work, gives eternal life, and did so by dying and rising
again. The Word calls out to us to believe. And it actually gives faith to
those who do not believe and strengthening the faith of those who do. The Word
makes Jesus known to us, but, more than that, gives us faith to believe Him.
O God, strengthen my faith and help me share
Your Word so they may believe and receive the forgiveness Jesus has won for all.
Amen.
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