Believe it or Not

“The issue of faith is not so much whether we believe in God, but whether we believe the God we believe in.” - R.C. Sproul

The poster in the gift shop had but one inspiring word emblazoned across it: BELIEVE. But it left me hanging; I couldn’t help asking – believe what?

Believing is a virtuous but dangerous practice. Believing the right things is beneficial and powerful, but believing the wrong things can lead to destruction. Believing a lie may be more perilous than not believing anything.

Christianity is a faith, and the object of our faith – what we believe – is critically important.

Paul understood full well the significance of believing the right things. For most of his life he believed the wrong things, leading him to persecute and even kill Christians. Then Jesus crashed into his life and radically transformed him on the road to Damascus. That encounter did not change that he believed – but it changed what he believed. He later wrote to the Church at Thessalonica this simple summary, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

Innumerable books have been written about what the Apostle Paul believed, but his own words encapsulate the core of his belief: that Jesus died and rose again.

Believe, but beware of what you believe. And never stop believing the simple yet profound truth – that Jesus died and rose again. 

Dan Bolin

President

Refueling in Flight Ministries,