Believe in The One God sent

John 6:26-29 (NLT)

26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” 28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

The day before Jesus had fed over 5000 people with a few fish and few loaves of bread. The disciples and Jesus had now moved to the other side of the shore and some who had seen Him the day before came seeking Jesus. When they found Him - Jesus told them the reason they had followed. It was not because of the works He performed or who He was, but instead it was because they had been fed. They replied they wanted to perform God’s works and Jesus replied that all God desired from them was to believe in the one God sent.

There are people who try to work their way into heaven. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us this, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Let’s think of it this way, if any person were able to be as holy as God they would end up boasting they were like God themselves. Therefore it would seem impossible that we could perform any work that would equate us to God.

I like to use an illustration where I draw a scale from 1 to 100 and place God at the 100% mark of holiness. Then I ask people to place those they know at various points on the scale. Usually there are some religious leaders placed close to the 100 percent mark and others below them. I have never had anyone place anyone other than God or Christ at the 100% mark. Intuitively we all know we are sinners and can never measure up to God. The Bible even tells us, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Then I point out if God cannot tolerate unrighteousness how can we ever be close to Him.

It is then we can remember that God forgives all our sins through Jesus Christ His Son. By placing our faith in Christ we receive a free gift salvation. It is not a gift we have to work for, but instead a gift that works through us. For when we accept Christ on faith we have a desire to follow Him and become more like Him.

Jesus let the people know that this is God’s desire when He said, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” Our duty is to place our faith in Jesus Christ who will then dwell in us, convicting us of sin and show us how to live our lives.