June 7, 2023

Belief Allows True Worship

“And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped Him.” John 9:38a (NASB)

            A friend died last night. He was on duty at the time of his death. He served honorably for over 25 years as a law enforcement officer and sergeant. He was a good friend and previous coworker. Last night, as sergeant, he gave his life for his friends. About a month and half ago, I met him in a restaurant. He had new deputies with him eating who were on his shift. He told me I wouldn’t recognize any of them since they were all reasonably new. We joked about the “old days.” We ended our conversation and hugged, agreeing it was good to see each other again. Now he is not here. He is in heaven. So quickly how life ends. Today, after speaking to the department chaplain, I discovered he had been a part of a prayer group. They were praying for revival in their department. He was one of three who came to pray. The chaplain also said he was at his revival service the week before. He had trusted Christ as Savior. Now he is gone. Today, he sits at the Master’s throne worshipping Him. It took something though. It took his belief in Christ to allow him access to the Master’s throne by saying, “Lord, I believe.”

            “And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.” This word “believe” is the same meaning as in yesterday’s passages, but there is something we should note from John’s progressive writings. Belief in Jesus started out under simple outward to inward changes. It started with physically following Him in the direction He traveled. They (disciples or followers of Christ) became traveling partners if you will. As time progressed, in early days, they began to place their trust in His teachings. They digested His words and began to see there was something special about Him and what He had to say. They learned new things. They began to see His reasoning and teachings as something extraordinary. From this point, they began to see only God could show them the things Jesus’ taught; so they saw Him as a prophet. A holy man if you will, who was delivering messages from Father God. Last, we see them place their faith in Jesus, recognizing He was God Incarnate. He was the Messiah. Looking at the blind man’s experience though, it was as if his life was placed on fast forward compared to the disciples. “And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.” It appears he reached his recognition of Jesus as God sooner than the others. But what was it that allowed him to move faster forward? I believe it was Jesus’ healing of the man, and then seeking him to share with the second half of what was missing; his salvation. It occurred in a short time period. “This was one result: a man healed of physical blindness also gained the sight of Jesus as God.”[1] Jesus completed the man, fully. “And he worshiped Him.” Tomorrow we will examine this second truth of what true conversion brings…

            I don’t know the spiritual age of my friend, or how long he was a Christian. It doesn’t matter, “he said, ‘Lord, I believe.” That is all he needed. His life too was on fast forward. God moved him to glory quicker than I. God had a purpose. I trust it. I’ll leave you with these thoughts today: “How blind is blind? Worst of all is the blindness that shuts out Jesus. This is far worse than a physical blindness that still allows the mind to see important truths. There are those who can see physically, but remain in sin because they are blind to Jesus. How blind is blind? If it is spiritual blindness that shuts out the Savior, it is blind as blind can be.”[2] Don’t be blind.

[1] Foster, L. (1987). John: Unlocking the Scriptures for You (p. 111). Standard.

[2] Ibid, 111.