| “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” |
| —John 6:29 |
Once, a dear friend told me:
“I was raised a Roman Catholic and became a Protestant during my college years. The one thing I miss about the Mass is the activity of standing, kneeling, and sitting that kept us alive and active all through the celebration. In the church I now attend, we stand sometimes, but we also sit a lot, too. I miss having something to do during worship.”
When my friend made the above pronouncement, I suggested he visit one of the more contemporary services of our local mega-church. I assured him that he would find ample opportunity for activity during that church’s rather high energy worship service. I also confess that his statement made me smile a bit. I remember the first Mass I attended. As a Fundamentalist Protestant, it was an almost frightening experience because I did not know what to do. Every other person was well-schooled in the Mass and I stood out because of my fumbling ways.
Now having experienced a much wider range of church services from an equally wide-range of Christian traditions, I am no longer uncomfortable with the beauty of liturgy and the activity of a liturgical service. But, my friend’s statement also made me realize that for some, a major impediment of the Christian faith is that there just isn’t enough for them to do.
We believe that our salvation rests solely with our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. There really isn’t anything we can do except to confess our sins and receive the pardon that He has already given us on the cruel Roman cross at Calvary. Our faith requires us to hold in our hearts the belief that what God has said is true. We respond in obedience to God’s will, as expressed in His written Word and through the nudging of the Holy Spirit who dwells within every person who believes. But, we cannot earn our salvation. The price was alread paid in full by Jesus. The Apostle John quotes Jesus Himself on this very matter in John 6:29:
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
As we begin a new day, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to powerfully enable our faith in a new and fresh way. As we consider the price that was paid to cover our sins with Jesus’ precious blood, let’s be truly humble and truly grateful for this great gift of love that comes to us from the God who, before the foundation of the world, chose us to belong to Himself.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, October 4, 2016
