“The Problem and the Promise of Belief” John 14:22-24

In the upper room on the night Jesus ate His final meal with the disciples He gave them an example, instructions and a promise. He showed them the fullness of His love by washing their feet and then instructed them if He their teacher and Lord washed their feet that they then should wash each other’s feet. He then told them to love each other even as He loved them. And then He told them He was going away. And with this statement the argument began. Peter wanted to go with Jesus. When God says “no” it is not an indictment on us; He is showing us a whole other depth of His care for us. “You cannot follow” was to protect Peter from death before Jesus had defeated death. We do not have to know what is happening or understand His ways to know that Jesus loves us and to trust His character. Building faith often begins with things that make us troubled. Belief is a decision to trust the character of Christ, to submit to the person of Christ and to commit to the relationship of discipleship. It starts in our minds and must travel to our hearts and then it must become the one thing that controls how we live our life. This morning my prayer is that we would see that the promises of belief are far greater than the difficulties of believing. Hold on, stand fast, guard your heart and trust the character of God your Father and Jesus your Lord.