First Step is to Believe || John 6:29 || Manna of the Mind #100

Welcome to Day 100 (nice milestone!) of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is John 6:29, where we’ll discuss how believing is the only work God calls us to do. Verse 28 is added for context.

John 6:28-29

AMP	NLT	MSG
28 To that they said, “Well, what do we do then to get in on God’s works?”	28 Then they asked Him, “What are we to do, so that we may habitually be doing the works of God?”	28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29 Jesus said, “Sign on with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.”	29 Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.”	29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

When we see transition words or phrases, such as “to that they said…” or “then they asked…,” it’s essential to go back to an earlier part of the passage to understand the conversation so we can gain its full context.

Jesus and the disciples fed the five thousand men (probably close to 20,000 total people) with five loaves and two fish. Then, the disciples see Jesus walking on the water. Later, the crowd, a part of the feeding, came and found Jesus on the other side of the lake. They were looking for more sustenance from Jesus, but Jesus wanted them to focus on the miracle that happened. To not be concerned with the food but to find eternal life. They wanted to perform miracles like Jesus did, but Jesus said they only needed to believe in him (verses 28 and 29). This leads to Jesus’ “I am the bread of life…” statement and explanation. They wanted to see a miracle (after witnessing the extraordinary feeding attempt that happened earlier) to affirm why they should believe in him. They threw out the fact of their eating manna in the wilderness, which shows me that they didn’t take the feeding as a legitimate miracle because it happened before. They credited the bread to Moses, and Jesus gave it to God. Jesus showed that the true bread was there before them and gave the world life. You can read more about Jesus’ “I am the bread of life..” statement in John 6:32-59.

Many people would love to know what God wants them to do. How many of us have asked God for that? “God, tell me what you want me to do.” You’re expecting God to lay out specific times, locations, and a multi-step plan to see this happen. Instead, God just tells us: “Do this.” No more, no less. His command has no details because he wants to see us act and react to our faith. The religions of the world stem from people attempting to answer this question. Everyone believes they hear God for themselves in a way that makes sense for their life; therefore, everyone must also believe that way because if they don’t, they’re wrong and they’re going to hell. Many religions and denominations have formed, split, and come back together with this mindset. Yet, Jesus’s response was simple.

All it takes to know what to do is to believe in Jesus and that God sent him to the world. Pleasing God doesn’t come from our work but from whom we serve. We have plenty of work to do to serve him, but the first step involves accepting that Jesus’ claims are true. From there, we can build our spiritual lives on this foundational affirmation. Declare that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of the Living God, and embark on a life of belief that is satisfying to your creator and incredibly fulfilling to you. Often, the first step in doing something is believing that you can do it. The first step into becoming a Christian is believing in who Jesus is and what he means for the salvation of your life.

The next step is talked about in 1 John 3:23.

1 John 3:23

AMP	NLT	MSG
23 This is His commandment, that we believe [with personal faith and confident trust] in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and [that we unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, just as He commanded us.	23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.	23 Again, this is his command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in with the original command.

Jesus commands us to believe (with our faith and trust) in who he is, love, and seek the best for each other. Believing in his name is important now, just as it was then. In biblical times, a person’s name represented their character. It reflected to the world who that person really was. We must believe in Jesus’ words, his essential nature, and who he is as the Son of God. To believe “in his name” means to align our lives with Christ’s. I want to become more like him through unity with him and his love for all people. The more we live like Christ, the more we will love one another.

Loving each other like Jesus does is tough work at times. The world will throw many people across our paths, some of whom will hurt, betray, and fight us. Jesus told us to love our enemies even more because God’s divine triumphs over everything. This ability will be easier as time passes, but it gets easier when we do it. We start doing it when we believe in who Jesus is. Let me leave you with our original focus passage, John 6:29. Many of us still struggle with whether or not we’re faithful to Christ or doing the right thing to get to heaven and have eternal life. I want you to memorize this and place this deep in your heart, for this will be your reminder. Until next time, stay blessed.

Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” – John 6:29