"Just Because"

 "Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like." (John 2:23-25 NLT)

  "This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. "But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit."" (Jeremiah 17:5-8 NLT)

  Most people need to be given something more than just words; they need to see proof, enough to know whatever it is that they are going to trust, is actually trustworthy and isn't going to let them down. Be that as it may, there is this thing called, "Believing in Jesus Christ," which is not like any other thing to believe in; those that believe in Jesus Christ are changed within! Some, may not even know for sure what has taken place; some will be transformed into a completely different person.

  In the NLT, this portion of Scripture is used to introduce Nicodemus, as it has the caption, "Jesus and Nicodemus," above the paragraph of verses 23 to 25; and no new caption above the beginning of Chapter Three. I went to bed last night planning to follow that example, taking it to mean that this was the lead into that conversation; but, because there was this thing, "many," as in, more than one, I figured it was best to consider there might have been more than just Nicodemus interesting in knowing more about Jesus Christ! 

  Back to the topic of what comes first, faith or believing. To begin with, believing is based upon a simple thing called notion; notions don't always turn out as we expect, but that does not always stop us from believing in them. When I was a child, I had a notion that I could put a cardboard box in a tree, get inside that box, and then push myself out of the tree; and I believed that the box would protect me. I no longer believe in that box, because my notion was wrong! 

  I can tell you, without much hesitation, believing must come before faith! My notion did not bring the result that I was looking for, so even though I believed in the box at first, after trying it out, I put no faith in the box thereafter! On the other hand, had the box performed that which I believed in it to do, that would have given me faith that the box would surely work. 

  The flip side of that, is what we call, "Blind Faith," which is where we have faith in something that we may or may not believe will work, because we have not tested it out. In other words, we go blindly around convincing others that boxes will save them from a fall, based upon a preconceived notion. The faith I had was not real, it was not true, because the box does not work! 

  But, we have Jesus! We can always put our faith in Christ, because that notion we had to believe in Him was true! When you first accepted Christ into your heart, it was because you believed that He was what you needed to be saved; once He came into your heart, you found out that what you believed in was true: He saved you! Your faith is not blind, because now you can see...

"But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet says, "LORD, who has believed our message?" So faith come from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." (Romans 10:17-18 NLT)