“Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” So Mary immediately went to him.”
John 11:26-29 NLT
Jesus asked Martha if she believed in His statement that He was the Resurrection and the Life, and that “Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die”. Her reply was a resounding “yes” and she followed it with what was probably a statement impregnated with danger in those days – “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God”. This was a dangerous thing to say because of what the Pharisees might do if they heard someone say it.
We pilgrims also reached a time when we declared our belief in Jesus and affirmed who He was, and still is, of course. What we believe is important because it not only defines us to the world around us but it also determines how we think and behave. But more than that, no one can make a statement of belief as Martha did without it changing their lives. We were not born as a baby who implicitly believed in Jesus, and never had to make a decision for Christ because we were already there. As Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. Through Adam’s sin, all of mankind is in a default position of not believing in God, and instead are believers in sin and wickedness. But thanks to God there came a revelation followed by a decision, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:8-9, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true”.
There are many people around us who have made their own statements of belief. And there are as many of them as there are people, it seems. Most of them are anti-God and many support an ideology that is yet one more devil-inspired bag of nonsense. There is a spectrum from the weird to the wonderful and God must shake His head in sadness when He observes what is going on. We must be grateful for the covenant He made with Noah, “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:9-11).
The early Christians produced their own statements of belief, in the form of Creeds. My earliest recollection of the Apostle’s Creed was in an Anglican Church, and it was recited regularly in services and at other times. But to us pilgrims today it is important that we have a statement of belief that will define both ourselves, and also our Creator God, to those around us. I believe ….
Dear Father God. We again affirm our belief if You the Maker of heaven and earth. We worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 