Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 John 20:28 – 31

It is not easy to believe!  Yet that is the essential thing!  If we do not believe we build life on nothing.  By belief, I am not suggesting nodding the head in consent.  That is easy.  What is difficult is believing God and what he has done for us and acting on that belief.

So, I am not surprised that the Gospel of John ends with this appeal to believe.  Believe what?  That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.  This world has produced many good people, and bad ones, too, by the way.  Jesus is not one of many, he is the Messiah, and there is only one!  As I hear the voice of the Spirit of God, I am reminded of the fact that Jesus cannot be equated with any other.  He is the Messiah, the sent one, sent by God himself to reveal him to us.  That is the essential theme of John’s Gospel.

If we can truly believe that we are changed completely, now having life in his name, we are changed from living for self to living for God!  I admit, it is hard to believe!  But the truth remains.  “We have life in the name of Jesus.”  In other words, there is no other way to have eternal life.

My soul, believe, believe, believe!  Believe when all seems to contradict that belief.  Keep believing until the end!