Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this simple prayer based on Psalm 116:8-9:
Lord, You have delivered me from death;
Deliver my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before You
in the land of the living.
Amen.
Reading
25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’
Our Annual Bible Reading Plan has me reflecting on this just two days after returning from the Memorial Service of one of my best friends, Jai Sarangarajan. He died very suddenly and unexpectedly last Monday. In truth, I should actually say that his body died very suddenly and unexpectedly, because he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ with every fibre of his being and he lived by believing in Jesus. So, although it’s unavoidably true that his body is dead, my friend still lives.
Just over a week ago, he lived “by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7) Now he lives by sight – face to face with the Risen Jesus, Who is seated at the Father’s right hand. And all of this not because he was a good man (which he undoubtedly was), but because he believed in Jesus.
To “believe in” the Lord Jesus (v.25) is to place our trust in Him as the One Who lived, died and rose again to save us. By His amazing grace, that believing brings us into a true and living relationship with Almighty God as our loving and forgiving Heavenly Father. It guarantees us that we will live on, even after we die.
Of this faith, Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“Those that believe in Jesus Christ appear to die, but yet they live. They are not in the grave, they are forever with the Lord. They are not unconscious, they are with their Lord in Paradise. Death cannot kill a believer, it can only usher him into a freer form of life.”
How then is “living by believing in Jesus” (v.26) any different, or is it merely a restatement of the same truth in different words? I think Jesus says it in these two slightly different ways to differentiate the act of initial saving faith (in v.25) from the active life of faith (in v.26), which enables us to live out the reality of our resurrection life in day-to-day living. In a spiritual sense, it brings the resurrection into our everyday experience of life.
This is an active life of lived-out faith (“living by believing in Jesus“). It is moment-by-moment, relational, practical discipleship. It is staying in step with the Word and Spirit of Jesus in every decision and every interaction. And it brings the resurrection life of Jesus into our here-and-now reality.
We do not have to wait until we die to live out the unspeakable joy and power of Jesus’ resurrection life. We can live it out right here and now in what Jesus called the “abundant life” (John 10:10). And that is experienced when we “live by believing in Jesus”. My friend, Jai, did this better than anyone else I ever met. Will we follow suit?
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn this declaration over and over in your mind. Keep it in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will live by believing in Jesus!
Holy Spirit, please empower me to live by my faith-relationship with Jesus, every moment of today. Amen.
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