Branches of belief!

"... consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.  You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’  Granted.  But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.”  Romans 11:18b-20a

A man once said to me, “I have a hard time accepting the idea that God will only let me into heaven if I believe a certain thing or a certain way.  So I live my entire life and, at the end, it all comes down to whether or not I believe something to be true?  I want to believe, because I’ve seen big changes in believers’ lives, but I have a hard time accepting that.”

The man’s honesty was refreshing and I completely understood his skepticism.  For if “belief” is simply acknowledging that something is true, I think he has hit on something.  Mere acquiescence to the truth of a matter, however sincere, seems to be of little significance.  James gave voice to it this way: “You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that - and shudder. (James 2:19)”

But faith in Jesus is not like that.  Biblical belief is more than a nod in agreement.  Much more ...

First, it is not good enough to simply believe in something; the object of our belief must be true in itself.  Let’s use Paul’s example of a root and its branches.  If we were to graft branches into a dead root, the branches would also die, quickly, regardless of the depth of our conviction while we went about the grafting.  Our belief would have been misplaced and therefore hopeless.  If the root were alive, however, its branches – be they natural or grafted – would also live; whether we were supremely confident or uneasy and anxious, the branches would “share in the nourishing sap of the olive root” and thrive.  Paramount is not the size of our faith, but the validity of that in which we place it.

Upon finding that which is true – a root with life in itself – real belief reaches far beyond simple assent.  (“Yep, that root’s alive, all right!”)  Faith embraces truth with arms of action.  Jesus Christ is that living “root” and he invites us to be grafted in to himself.  We RSVP in the affirmative by confessing that we branches cannot survive on our own or by any other means, and entrusting our very lives to him who is able to sustain us forever.  That is our action of belief: relinquishing our self-righteousness for his righteousness, our kingship for his kingship, our will for his will, our lives for his life in us.  Faith reaches far beyond an academic nod to truth; by it, we entrust our dying lives to the one who can sustain us forever.

May we, then, always hold on to the hope that is true, never misplacing our belief, but remaining ever-trusting in Jesus, who has life in himself.  And living freely in this certainty, may we be graced with opportunities to tell other “wild olive shoots” about the root that sustains us. 

He always has room for more.

[Today’s daily Bible reading is Romans 11:17-24.  For added context, verses 11-16 are also included in the following links.  For NIV, click here.  For The Message, click here.]