You Are a Walking Miracle

From Gospel Translations

Audio Transcript

Christian Hedonism changes the way we think about faith and the fight of faith. Listen to Jesus in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes [that is, has faith — he’s talking about what faith is] in me shall never thirst.” So, bread and water. Jesus is bread that satisfies hunger, and living water that satisfies thirst. If you put the first and second half of the verse together, they illumine each other. I’ll read it again. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

So, what would be your definition of faith if you just defined it on the basis of that verse alone? Mine would be believing in Jesus is a coming to him as bread and as water so as to have soul hunger and soul thirst satisfied. That’s faith. And I don’t know how it is here. But the milieu I grew up in, faith was not talked about like that very often. It was almost always heady and decisionistic. Like, here’s some ideas, here’s some choices you can make. Make the choices and now you’re in. Not a word about hunger, thirst, soul-satisfaction, new desires, new tastes, miraculous new birth.

But I’m saying faith is not a mere decision. It’s a miracle. It’s the awakening of, “You satisfy my soul’s hunger. You satisfy my soul’s thirst. You are what I was made for, and all I need, you are it. Come on in.” That’s faith. This stuff about mere decision leaves our churches filled with carnal non-Christians who call themselves Christians. So, be careful. Believe what you sing and you’ll be okay.