Jose Felipe thought he booked his trip on a different airline. He never boarded VoePass Flight 2283, which crashed in Brazil leaving no survivors. “Thank God we didn’t get on that plane,” he said.
A presidential candidate literally dodged a bullet when a would-be assassin’s bullet hit his ear. He thanked God and called it a miracle saying, “Now I’m more of a believer, I think.”
These were death-defying, near misses. Clarifying moments like these have a way of touching the human soul. To express gratitude for the providence of God is to acknowledge His existence. But this basic belief is only a step into the foyer of a beautiful mansion – more rooms await you. Go further in.
To believe in God means you have a notion of who He is. Is your god the one of popular religion who gives you credit for trying to be a better person, who only helps those who help themselves, or who turns humans into angels when they die? Or do you know Him as He has revealed Himself? God “has spoken to us in His Son… through whom He made the world” (Heb. 1:2). So, what has Jesus, God the Son, spoken to us? Consider two stories.
One evening after sunset Nicodemus told Jesus, “You have come from God.” He knew God existed. But Jesus challenged him to something more, to be “born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus kept asking questions. Jesus made it plain. God loves you enough to give His Son, He revealed, “that whoever believes in Him shall… have eternal life.” This new birth impacts a believer’s life in the here and now “so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3)
On another occasion, Jesus set out on a journey. A wealthy young man ran out and knelt down in front of Jesus. Jesus paused to chat. The man was religious and moral. Still he asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” In the ensuing exchange, Jesus insisted you simply can’t “do” enough. Then he revealed the good news! “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10). By God’s grace you have eternal life through faith, not from works.
God wants you to know He exists and to trust His plan for you. He invites you to saving faith, a born-again faith in God the Son who died on the cross, arose from the dead, and went to prepare a place for you. By His Spirit you live a repentant life, beautiful to Him. To only believe that God exists and sometimes intervenes to help you are nice thoughts. But to trust what He has revealed in Jesus is far more consequential than gratitude for a near miss.