Imagine setting out to take a flight. You buy the ticket, check the departure time, arrive at the airport, and still miss the plane. Not because you read the schedule wrong or went to the wrong gate, but because you never truly believed the plane would take off. Who is at fault: the airline, or you?
Though the example sounds ridiculous, it mirrors how some approach the Bible. God, through His Word, reveals who He is, what He has done through Christ, and how we are to respond to Him. He clearly lays out the path to forgiveness. In love, He also warns of the consequences of disobedience.
Yet questions remain. Will God judge those outside of Christ? Does He expect His followers to live self-controlled and upright lives? Do we need to worship God as He instructs, rather than in the way we prefer?
These questions do not always come from misunderstanding, but from a lack of belief in what Jesus has said. In John 3:36, Jesus shows that belief is more than acknowledgment; it is trust that leads to obedience. Belief in Christ changes everything. Just as believing a plane will depart moves us to board it, believing Christ leads us to follow Him as He has directed, so that we may have eternal life in Him.
Josh Schutkowski