John
6: 27 - 29 (NIV): Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that
endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him
God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Then they asked
him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus
answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has
sent."
To me, this is such an
important passage because it shows us what God requires of us to
achieve eternal life.
The Old Testament had spoken
of living a long, good life, but this was something new and radical:
the idea that a person could live forever. No one had ever made such
a promise. No one had ever said we had the option of living
eternally. Then Jesus came along and offered just that.
Naturally, people wanted to
know what they had to do to get in on this eternal life. This would
have to be the most expensive item ever purchased. It must be so
expensive that few could afford it. But it would be worth any cost to
get. Nothing could ever compare to such a gift.
The people's question was
simple and legitimate: okay, what must we do to get this? What work
must we do to earn a spot in eternity? Everything in our nature tells
us we must earn something like this. And it must be hard to
get.
Jesus' answer was every bit as radical as the concept itself:
"believe in me." He said you can't earn eternity by any
works other than that one thing – believe in the one God sent. In
other words, believe that Jesus is the Messiah. There is no other way
to heaven. Jesus was soon to pay for eternity with his own broken
body and spilled blood. Only Jesus could pay for something so
expensive and that is exactly what he did. But we
must believe that. We must trust in him for our salvation and not try
to earn it ourselves.
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