A Weak Subtlety That Carries Profound Significance
I admit that the point I’m attempting to make is debatable at best on the surface. But the treasured thought buried beneath is well worth the effort to dig it out and put it on display.
Like the saying, “There are two sides to every coin”, trust and belief represent two similar, yet unique ways to think about something. Trust connotes the sense that something or someone will NOT act in a way that is harmful to me or mine. It suspends any potential reason to fear. I trust that the chair will not break when I sit on it. I trust that I will not be hurt because the chair is sound.
Belief offers another perspective. Belief carries with it the sense that something or someone WILL act it in a way that is beneficial or good to me and mine. It instills a confidence beyond the mere absence of danger and conveys the surety of blessing. I believe that my personal trainer is knowledgeable. I believe they will lead me into a greater fitness level therefore I do what they tell me to do.
(Yes, I recognize you can trust the chair WILL hold up or believe that my trainer WILL NOT hurt me, but it still highlights that there are two sides to this coin. I’ve just chosen to parse it out this way. Let’s keep digging! :)
That’s Cute, But So Is My New Puppy. What’s Your Point?
Trust and belief are two words that illuminate God’s character and my response to Him. Trust allows me to stop running from Him. Belief inspires me to follow Him. Trust frees me from fear. Belief frees me to worship.
God’s character can be described with many words and parceled into different attributes.
God is love. God is merciful. God is just. God is powerful. God is holy. God is patient, forgiving, ever-present. He saves, heals, carries.
They’re all true and they’re all good. He is true – you can trust Him. He is good – you can believe in Him.
Trust and belief are the two sides of the coin, and the coin is God’s love for us. In the beginning, when God first approaches us, we tremble and fear. And rightly so. We are guilty. He is holy. This can’t end well, we think. So God’s love extends to us like a blanket covering our cold bodies. He has to soothe the fear to still the trembling. And that’s what He does.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4)
That initial moment can be pictured by the outstretched arms of God reaching towards you. The look in His eyes is the reflection of the cross. And the warmth that chases away the cold is His Spirit breathing new life. You know He is trustworthy. You know you can trust Him.
But then, after the fear is replaced by trust, His love engenders another element within. Belief grows with every new experience and encounter. We are encouraged and we begin to draw upon the past trustworthiness of God for a belief-filled perspective of the future.
“We have come to know and to believe the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4)
The depiction of this second side of love is His initially outstretched arms now drawing you into Himself. Into His heart, which is where you have always been destined to be. He brings you in to “abide” together. You know He is good. You know you can believe in Him for the rest of your life.
Flipping The Coin
The two-sided coin of God’s love is the deeper treasure we unearth as we think about trust and belief. Turn it over in your mind however you will, but whichever side comes up, you will find that He has completely given the completeness of Himself to us through gospel of Jesus.
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…” (Colossians 1)
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near…” (Ephesians 2)
Trust in Jesus. Believe in Him forever. Why? Because He loves you.
