“I Believe In Jesus...Sometimes”

Christians are people who believe in Jesus.  And we believe that by believing in Jesus, we have life in his name.  But we live in this weird “between time;” between the time when God’s salvation has entered into the world (Christmas) and the time when the world finally enters into God’s salvation (the end of the age).

But Christians are people who have accepted the invitation to trust Jesus and enter into God's salvation now.  We're the ones who breathe in the crisp clean air that is God's salvation. We've been fitted with a set of spiritual lungs that can extract “God oxygen” out of this "between" atmosphere so that we are able to be fully alive. 

It's just that sometimes I don't believe in Jesus.  Sometimes (a lot of times) I fail to trust my new lungs.  I step out of my door on Monday morning, the day after I have publicly confessed my faith in Jesus Christ, holding my breath… waiting on the salvation that I already have. 

Or worse, I fall back on trying to suck life out of stuff like financial security, or a "successful" career, or hoping to hear about some other poor sap's failure so I can feel better about myself.  It’s sad really. It's not really living.  It's definitely not believing in Jesus.   

But sometimes, maybe on Christmas morning (which happens to be a Monday morning this year) I remember that I'm a Christian and I believe in Jesus.  And when I do, when I breathe deeply the breath of life that God keeps trying to breathe into me...well, then I am saved. 

This Christmas, may you and I believe in Jesus.  And by believing, may we have life in his name.