Passage Read: John 15-16
Meditation Verses: 16:31-32
Thought
"Do you now believe?" The disciples think they finally have it. Then Jesus says they will shortly be scattered, each to his own home. They don't yet have it. They are perhaps closer to true faith than ever before, but they're not there yet. They still have testing to undergo. They still have to fail in faith. They still have revelation to experience. They still await the Spirit. But once all that is complete, each of these men will give their lives for the truth of Jesus Christ.
Application
It's easy to think I believe, that I have true faith, that I have understanding when my faith is not tested in any real way. Faith is not merely an intellectual thing. It is not merely understanding and thinking I believe certain truths. It is being convicted and convinced to the core of my being so that whatever test or trial comes, I'm only more certain of the truth of what I claim to believe. Until I have been tested and until the Spirit truly fills me, I can't boast that I believe, I can't be confident that I do indeed believe. Am I ready to stand the test of threat to my life? Am I really ready to die for my faith in Christ? Am I ready to live for the Gospel and give up all worldly pleasures and ambition? Am I doing so? Then I may actually believe, or at least be much closer than I was. The easier it is to believe, the less confidence I should have in my faith. The more I'm tested and tried and the more tests I pass, the more confidence I can have that my faith is genuine.