You Don't Have to Understand to Believe

I'm not sure why I tried to explain the internet to Sam, but my effort was a total flop. How do you explain the way an email or a text travels through the mysterious world of digital to land in an inbox on the other side of the globe in a way that makes sense to someone who has never used a computer? 

I can't do it. That's for sure. Maybe my failure to explain cogently is because I don't understand the internet myself. 

The good news is that understanding the internet is not necessary in order to use the internet.

My very flawed explanation was still on my mind when I read John 3. Jesus told Nicodemus that he would have to born again. Nicodemus heard those words and was skeptical. (Leanna paraphrase coming up.)

"Yeah, right. I'm a grown man. How am I going to get back inside my mama and come out again. That is so not happening."

"That's not what I mean, Nick. There's physical birth and spirit birth. You need spirit birth."

"I can't understand this at all. It doesn't make sense. I can't believe this."

"You don't have to. You don't need to understand to believe. You believe in the wind, but you can't see it."

"I don't know about that..."

"Nicodemus, if you can't understand earthly things enough to believe them, how will you believe heavenly things enough to believe them?" 

And then...

Jesus decided to tell Nicodemus a heavenly thing, anyway, and give him a chance to believe.

"God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to save the world and give them eternal life. And here I am. Right here, Nicodemus. You can see me, and I've come to save you."

It's a heavenly thing that's hard to understand, but it's no less true because of the difficulty. Nicodemus didn't believe that day, but one day, he did the hardest, yet simplest thing of all. He let go of his need to understand and accepted on faith the words of the One he'd struggled to understand.

That's how it is for us, too. We will never understand the ways of God. We're not good as He is good. We don't love as He loves. We don't give as He gives. Our inadequacy doesn't make Him less good, less loving, less giving. 

He's God and we are not.

He gave because we could not.

That's what's hard to understand. It's why belief is a choice we make. 

Do we want to have eternal life or not? Good deeds can't give it to us. Neither can lots of donations, or being kind to strangers, rescuing orphaned children, preaching sermons, or sacrificing everything for another. 

There's only one way to have eternal life, and that's through Jesus. If we want eternal life, we choose to believe in Jesus. It's that hard. It's that simple.

So what about us? Do we want eternal life in heaven? There's one way, and His name is Jesus. Let's be sure we've placed our faith in Him alone to save us.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 
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In case you missed the story of Sam's project, here's the link: Sam's Project: Rubber Boots for Barefoot Rwandan Children
If you'd like to give to help buy boots for the barefoot school children of Rwandan, you can go directly to the project page here: Help Sam's Kids. We're making good progress. More than 300 pairs of boots have been given so far. 10% of the need has already been met!

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: The Redemption of a Wrecked Reputation
#Jesus #salvation