Fr Alex Swain

Beloved in Christ,

I’ve been thinking about the nature of belief. The way we talk about belief tends to be associated with an intellectual kind of assent to a proposition.

I believe that the Sun will set this evening. I have good reason to believe this. It has happened every day of my life and has happened every single day of this planet’s existence.

But the word belief can often come with a kind of laziness when talking about faith. Many people, including myself, believe in Jesus Christ as our savior and redeemer. I believe that we will be brought into eternity because of Jesus.

But sometimes, the word “believe” can lead us to think that an intellectual assent is sufficient when it comes understanding what it means to follow Christ.

Another way to understand the word often translated as believe might be “faithfulness.”

This implies action.

To believe in Christ is to be faithful to Christ.

To be faithful to Christ suggests that we live and act a particular way to maintain that faithfulness to Christ.

The Epistle today comes from Peter. Peter, the rock, who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Peter, the one who would not let Jesus come to harm. Peter, the one who denies Christ.

Peter, the living, breathing, human who walked with Christ, and of whom we have an extant letter.

This is a man who believed in Jesus. He had faith in Jesus. The Greek word often translated for “believe” comes from the word “to trust (in).”

Peter trusted in Jesus. And because he trusted in Jesus, he acted a particular way with his life.

It’s mind-boggling to me that we are blessed to have writings from the disciples, that we can read the very words of a man who witnessed all that Jesus did throughout His life.

Like Peter, we bear witness to the truth of Jesus in our lives.

Peter reminds us that the genuineness of our faith is “more precious than gold.”

How then might we live out our trust in Jesus, our faithfulness in Christ? It’s more precious than gold, after all! If we believe in Jesus, if we trust Jesus, then we must act on that trust.

How differently would we behave if our actions were colored by trusting in Jesus? That is the question for us to ponder this week.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Alex