"He that believeth on him is not condemned." John 3:18
The story is told of a missionary who was translating the book of John into an African dialect. He had great difficulty in finding a word for the off-repeated expression "believe," so he had to leave it blank. He continued his work, but was constantly baffled by his in ability to translate this key word. One day a native came from another community with a message of great importance. He had been running through the tangled under-brush for hours and so was completely exhausted. He blurted out his message and, being at the end of his endurance, threw himself upon a nearby hammock. As he went limp he breathed a sigh of relief and uttered a word in the African dialect which was new to the missionary. He asked the natives what the runner had said. One replied, "Master, it means 'I am resting all my weight here.'" "Thank God," said the missionary, "that is just the word I need for "believe'"; and he proceeded to complete his translation.
Many today are concerned about what God means with the word "believe." They wonder if they have the right "feeling," the right type of "faith." They fail to realize that it is not faith but Christ who saves. The devil makes them concentrate on their poor, weak faith, rather than on the object of that faith. Look at the native again. At the end of himself, he does nothing but just rest his all upon the hammock. So, too, believing is just casting one's self unreservedly into the open arms of the Lord Jesus and saying, "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief. On Thee I rest my soul for eternity." Stop trying so hard and just let Jesus do it all! You want to come, don't you? Of course you do! Well, that shows that you have enough faith for "whosoever Will may come!" Remember, Jesus said, "Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." Don't let the devil fool you any longer; turn everything over to Christ and rest in His love.
"Bread For Each Day"
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