Did you know that “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved?” – Romans 10:9
That easy, huh?
What is your reaction and/or response when you pose this question to yourself? Are you praising in agreement because you’ve declared this belief in your heart? Are you questioning the question? Or are you undecided? I’ve personally encountered all of the above and then some when it comes to talking about the whole Jesus thing.
The “journey of faith” fascinates me. I’ve been on all sides of skeptical and oftentimes refer to my upbringing in “the church” as a schmorgasbourg. What started as a walk into a service to make my mother happy turned into a personal and daily walk with Jesus. I was less hesitant when I realized God, Jesus, and the whole bible thing wasn’t as black and white as I’d expected it to be.
It took years.
Years of me not paying attention.
Years of feeling nudges and ignoring them.
Years of one foot in the world and one foot in my faith.
Years of conversations and church services on Sunday.
Years of practice in surrender and trusting.
Years of accepting that I am a child of God.
Years of learning how much Jesus loves me.
And guess what?
I am still learning, and am still grappling with the fact that I’ll never learn everything.
This type of humility comes in handy. Humility feels like one of those secret keys to life that helps us navigate through just about anything. If we were all willing to accept that we don’t know it all, we aren’t good at everything, and we won’t be able to solve every problem – there would be much more compassion in our world today.
The devil we know is our ego. That not so little voice in our head that tries to overrule whatever our intuition says. Look, there’s ego now, “I don’t have a big ego, I have been working on that!”
We all get caught up in an ego trap. The relationships we have in our lives end up being the mirrors that reflect that. If you are feeling tension, disconnect, or sadness between people that you love and admire, reflect on the type of connection and emotions that you desire. Go after it. If your attempt is not well received, the chances of what actually needed to surface will increase.
What initially had me curious about Jesus was His character. Throughout all of my church experiences and conversations about, I’d never heard a bad thing about the guy. I’d learned He was kind, unconditionally loving, and performed miracles from time to time. I’d never heard words like surrender and humility used anywhere else. I’d never fully understood the whole story of sacrifice and how Jesus did that for every one of us.
It’s life changing what a little bit of information, an experience, or a conversation revolving around faith can do. See the verse I shared in the beginning is for the unsure one, the new believer, the one hungry for something new.
If you keep reading through the chapter, Romans 10 goes on to ask these questions in verse 14,
“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him?
And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him?
And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”
These questions are for the believers, the ones who have seen Jesus’ good works. These questions are for you and me. The ones who have invested the time into the learning. This is our responsibility. It’s up to those who have had that encounter, experienced a holy moment, or seen first hand what Jesus can do. We are the ones that have to share the good news.
So where do you stand? Are you in need of the proof? Do you have questions about the question? Or were you one of the ones who needed something to do?
For the one who needs proof, ask for a sign.
For the one with the questions, open your mind.
For the one who knows, go share the good news.
Allow for your belief to go a long way. May it be a little or a lot, I encourage you to share what you’ve got.
Start with a smile. Share a story. Build a connection with someone new. Set an example. Be kind to others. Showcase the good things you know about Jesus in all that you do. Start small. Put in the effort. Pray about everything, and give praise too.
My hope is that your small act of believing brings Jesus closer to you!
Till next time, my friends.
Local Pulse Staff Writer & Holy Moments Columnist, Makenna Curtis
