“When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following Him, He said, ‘I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!’” (Luke 7:9 NLT)
What is the essential ingredient without which no one will see God? According to Hebrews 11:6 it’s faith! Why is faith so foundational to all the other things we need to know and do if we’re going to follow Jesus? At its root faith is the conviction that something is true.
Years ago, I watched a movie that followed two groups of people who were trying to get to a certain destination, but they had to trek through the snow and ice that was several feet deep. As the first group came to a crevasse about 10-15 feet wide, ironically, there were two ways to cross, but they were carrying things that caused them to fear the snow bridges wouldn’t bear the weight.
One guy, who was the “expert,” used his pole to poke each one and determined one was safe and the other one wasn’t. So, one by one they crossed the “safe” bridge, but as the last person cleared, it fell, leaving only the one the expert deemed unsafe.
When the second group came and saw the people who had crossed standing on the other side, they wrongly assumed they had used the only bridge there. Despite their pleadings to the contrary, one of their group started over the other bridge and fell to his death. What was the problem? They put their faith in the wrong person.
That’s what millions of people do everyday with Jesus. They hear or read the Gospel proclaiming Jesus as the only way to heaven, but they assess their situation and conclude they have more faith in their way than His, so, ultimately, they “fall” to their eternal death.
Dr. Billy Graham wrote: “The unbelieving world should see our testimony lived out daily because it just may point them to the Savior.” Our lives can be a window to enable others to see and understand, not only who Jesus is, but why He died on the Cross in our place. The Cross is the bridge across which we can enter into the holy presence of our forgiving Father.
However, as John Stott wrote: “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” Foundationally, we need to understand God didn’t create the need for the Cross, we did. If we’d followed God’s directives from the beginning, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die, but because as human beings we place more faith in lies than we do in Truth, we struggle to believe the Truth when we see it embodied in human flesh, whether being lived out in the Bible or in and through those of us who bear His holy Name.
Further, salvation isn’t created or continued by us, it is solely dependent on faith in Christ alone from start to finish. That’s why Thabiti Anyabwile’s words ring so true: “Claiming to be saved without following Jesus is demonic nonsense.”
Faith isn’t simply the pathway to salvation in Christ, it’s the proverbial “house” in which we continue to live as long as there is breath in our lungs. There is no growth or development in our walk with Jesus unless and until we yield our life and allegiance to Him.
Our faith won’t bear the weight of our sin if it’s focused on our own heart or life; otherwise, why would Jesus have died? If you haven’t placed your full trust in Christ for your eternal salvation, please click this link to Ron Hutchcraft’s Bridge Illustration and get it settled today.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 