True believing...

In John Chapter 3, the author makes mention of an incident that was recorded in Numbers 21. The story is actually quite short but it makes a powerful point about faith and believing. It is the story of how the people of Israel grumbled and complained against God and against Moses, God's chosen leader for them.

Because of their complaining, God sent poisonous snakes among them, to discipline them. (My grandfather once told me that we either discipline ourselves or we will be disciplined by others.") They did get the message but not without paying an awful price. Many died! When they realized that they had sinned, that they had failed, that their behavior was offensive to God, they repented. That's right, they admitted that they had done wrong. Wow!

Having confessed and repented of their sin, they asked Moses to pray for them (on their behalf). They did not dare to approach God on their own so they asked Moses to "go there" for them. He did, and God made a way for them to escape death (because of their sin) at the hand of poisonous snakes. Moses made a large snake out of brass and hung it on a pole. (I love this story from Bible story books when I was a child.)

The instructions for the people who had been bit by a snake? Look (at the snake on the pole) and live! All they had to do was look. We have all grumbled, complained, told God that we could do it better, told our parents (perhaps silently) that we were/are much smarter, told our boss that we had a better plan... About 2,000 years ago, Jesus was also hung on a pole in view of everyone. The message then (and now) was the same as given to the people by Moses: Look and Live!

Does it sound too simple? It may be. Does it sound too easy? No doubt it is. Does it sound ridiculous? There you go with doing it your own (better) way, again. Look and Live! It is your sin and you cannot pay its price apart from death, eternal death! He already paid the price. Do the simple thing, the easy thing, the ridiculous thing. Look and Live! Trust Him by looking, and living. Believe in Him by trusting enough to just Look!, and you will live.

He has promised; you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is true faith, true belief. You can't see it, touch it, feel it... but it is very real. Look, and Live! Holy Bible: Gospel of John, Chapter 3, verses 1-22.; and, Book of Numbers (Old Testament), Chapter 21