Must

Over the years I’ve heard a lot of teaching on sound or healthy doctrine.  This morning, as I thought about this, I wondered, “What are the essentials of my faith?  What do I have to believe and what must I do?”

One of the passages of scripture that came to mind was Acts 2:37, you know, the one before, “Repent and be baptized…”  When I turned to this text, I was surprised to find that the word “must” was not there.  I don’t know whether the word, “must” is found in any other version, but that wasn’t important to me.  The thought that captured my attention was the phrase, “What must I do?”

There were several verses of Scripture that came to mind.  Jesus said God “worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).  I hear Jesus saying that as a believer, I must be a fully authentic, transparent person.  Paul describes this as being a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

In order to worship or live in this way, the Hebrew writer says, “…anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).  I hear the Hebrew writer telling his audience that God must be a living reality in their day to day life.  Jesus said, “Whoever serves Me must follow Me” (John 12:26).  John adds, “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (I John 2:6).

In the past, whenever I’ve tried to live the kind of life that God expects me to live, I’ve encountered frustration, anger, and despair.  I used to try and console myself by saying, “I’m human.  I make mistakes.  I did the best I could.”  But somehow, these thoughts were not comforting.  In the midst of my anguish, I heard Jesus’ words, “You should not be surprised at My saying, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).  “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself: it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:4).

In His words, I heard that unless I recognize that I am at His mercy and am dependent on Him, I may as well be dead.  Since I’ve acknowledged this, I’ve been living a fuller, more abundant, and healthier life.