Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29 NIV)
The work God wants you to do is believe in Jesus. Before we can do anything else for God, we have to believe in His Son. Why is it important to believe in Jesus? Because once you believe in Him, your life changes forever. In order to believe in Jesus, we must first admit we’re sinners. We admit that what we are doing in our life isn’t working and we need help. When we do that, and place our trust in Jesus, He will show us a new way to live. The work God wants us to do is believe in Jesus.
The work God wants us to do is believe in Jesus.
When we believe in Jesus and place our faith in Him, we’ll want to do things differently. The first thing we experience is His grace and mercy. He forgives us of all our sins:
“Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time.” (Hebrews 10:10 NIV)
When we experience Jesus’ grace and mercy in our own lives, we want to share it with others. We want them to know the new life we have found. Jesus’ light shines into us, then through us to others. God does the work, we don’t. He’s the One who illuminates our lives in ways we never imagined. He gives us dreams we would never have dreamt. All He asks is that we put our faith in Him.
The fruits we begin to bear as we follow Jesus, against such things there is no law:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)
The light that shines through us is communicated to others by the fruits we produce. When we are kind to another person, we’re bearing good fruit. When we show love to someone who thinks they are unlovable, we are being Christ in the flesh for them. When we are faithful in our relationships, God’s light is shining. As we practice self-control when emotions are threatening to overtake us, Jesus is being glorified. When we find joy in the midst of heartache, peace in the middle of turmoil, love in the face of hate, we’re shining Jesus light for the world to see.
The work God wants us to do is believe in Jesus. He takes care of the rest once we place our faith in Him.
Question of the Day:
Have you done the work God wants you to do?
Further Reading: 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27 NIV, John 6:22-42 NIV, Psalm 106:32-48 NIV, Proverbs 14:34-35 NIV
