When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
When it comes down to it, faith in Jesus Christ is what it’s really all about. We get so bent out of shape over so many things when it comes to being a follower of Jesus. We’ll fight about so many things in the church. We’ll argue over personal preferences and opinions, but we miss the bottom line. We will bicker and fight over getting our own way and never take time to consider what God really wants. God wants us to believe in Jesus. Everything else, while important, is not the most important thing.
We’ve elevated so many beliefs and preferences to the level of essential matters of faith, but in reality, they are matters of opinion. They don’t matter as much as we think they do in the grand scheme of things. If you want to boil it down to the most important work of God, it is found in John 6:29 – believing in Jesus. It doesn’t get much more basic than that. Perhaps we could save a lot of arguing and fighting until we’re blue in the face if we got a better handle on this. Maybe we could do a better job of showing people who Jesus really is if we were focused on faith in Him instead of trying to get our way. To be sure, there are very important matters that need to be discussed in the church as a whole. Let’s talk about them calmly and with civility instead of screaming at one another or choosing not to associate with one another because of our differences. It all comes down to faith in Christ and if we can agree on that, we can work together to make a difference in our world for Him.
PRAYER: Father, I thank You for sending Jesus to save us. Help me to trust Him more today. Help me to get along with those who disagree with me. Help me to be a peacemaker. Help me to be like Jesus. Amen.
The Lavished Pauper 
0 Responses to “The Most Important Thing”