What do you believe?
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
Isaiah 43:10
Do you really, really believe it? Is it evident you believe it?
The London Daily Mail provided this assessment of Billy Graham during one of his first campaigns in England. “He has no magnetism; he has no appeal to the emotions. His power—and power he has—is the indivisible conviction that he KNOWS the right way of life.”
The power of an idea is incredible. Victor Hugo concludes, “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come. “ Oliver Wendell Holmes asserts, “One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” Last, perhaps most germane to today’s discussion, are these words from Thomas Mann: “If you are possessed by an idea, you find it expressed everywhere, you even smell it.”
The Christian acknowledges a similar power throughout his Christian life. He began life walking in spiritual darkness or spiritual ignorance. Then the light of the gospel shone upon him. He saw or realized truths (similar to ideas) for the first time. He accepted those truths by accepting Christ as his Savior. And life changed. (That’s why the Bible refers to the change as a new creation.) To paraphrase Mann: “If you are possessed by Christ you find Him expressed everywhere, you even smell Him.”
Christ, and by association the ministry He commits to us, absorbs us. It reminds me of the atheist that went to church once a week. When asked why, he said, “I like to hear the pastor preach.”
“But why? You don’t agree with anything he says.”
“That is true, but I like to hear someone talk about something he truly believes!”
Think again about what the newspaper said of a young Billy Graham. “He has no magnetism; he has no appeal to the emotions. His power—and power he has—is the indivisible conviction that he KNOWS the right way of life.”
You and I are blessed with more than an idea. We are blessed with KNOWING, BELIEVING, and UNDERSTANDING firsthand a person (Christ), His message (Bible), and His mission. And it transforms us in ways others can never know unless they come to the same knowledge.
Yes, I believe. That’s why they call me a believer. How about you?
Tom Swartzwelder was born again at the age of nine in an old-fashioned revival meeting. Tom received his B.A. from Tennessee Temple University and his M. Div from Luther Rice Seminary. He has pastored for nearly forty years in both bi-vocational and full-time roles. He provides practical how-to-do-ministry resources for the disciples of Jesus Christ. Tom’s latest book is “God Speaks–Today!”
0 Comments