Believe and Live

‘You are from below; I am from above.

You are of this world; I am not of this world.

I have told you already:

You will die in your sins.

Yes, if you do not believe that I am He,

you will die in your sins.’

Jn.8:22,23

The Pharisees are disputing with Jesus over who he is. Jesus makes it clear for them. They are from below. He is from above. They are of the world. He is of heaven. Believe or die in your sins.

In his marvelous book, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis states the outworking of Christianity is based on three things; baptism, eucharist and belief. Faith, or belief, is a foundational part of Christian life.  There are lots of good reasons to follow Jesus but in the final analysis it requires belief that he is who he says he is, the Son of God. 

The beauty of belief is that it can't be taken away from me. I can let it fade away or slip through my fingers but that is my choice. My belief needs nurturing and feeding. It needs this daily prayer time. It needs the Church where I'm encouraged by other believers and where I receive communion. This means, according to Jesus, when I die I won't die in my sins, I'll die forgiven.

Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are, the Son of the living God. I place my trust in you.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.