Do You Believe?

We are starting to hear a bit more about this summer’s upcoming Paris Olympics. The last time the Olympics were held in Canada, CTV ran a number of “Believe Ads.” They asked the viewer the question, “Do You Believe?”

I’ll follow the Olympics with interest to see how things turn out for our country and the Canadian athletes. I enjoy those kinds of things.

But whether you or I believe in the Canadian athletes or not, will not make a great deal of difference in their outcomes. Though it may be amazing what some athletes can do and accomplish, even for them, that medal or record has a shelf life. Somebody will eventually come along and break their record. Eventually that medal will get put in a box that collects dust, get sold on eBay, get stolen, get passed off to a relative, or be forgotten at one’s death bed.

On the contrary, whether we believe in Christ makes a great deal of difference to each one of us individually. And the impact of whether we believe in Christ or not, lasts not just for a lifetime, but forever.

1st Peter 1:7 says that faith in Jesus is of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire. Matthew 6:20 encourages us to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” 1st Timothy 4:8 assures us that physical training has some value, but the things of God have value above all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Jesus’ instruction is not to focus on, or work for, that which spoils, but on that which endures to eternal life. (John 6:27)

Jesus chides some of His close friends, in his days on earth, that they were being foolish because they were slow of heart to believe (Luke 24:41), and he tells His disciple Thomas to stop doubting and believe (John 20:27).

Jesus informs us that “if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” (John 8:24) His needful reminder is, “whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) He also says, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18)

In the Bible, we read, “believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” ( Acts 16:31) Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) The good news from John 3:16 is, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Olympic Athletes are seeking to believe that they can cross the finish line first, or be declared the winner. Jesus tells us, “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24) The question each one of us is left with, is: “Do You Believe?” Will you place your trust in the One God has sent for you, and receive what He has promised?