“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”.
1 John 5:5
Overcoming the complexities of life begins with a simple belief that Jesus is Lord and the only begotten Son of God. This is the beginning of the life that overcomes.
The Bible says: “ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith”. ( 1 John 5:4).
As simple as this life saving principle may be, many can’t just bank on it to give them the needed boost because the message of salvation has been made so simple.
Why? So that the dull in heart, the intelligent, the rich and the poor should have equal opportunity for salvation. (Luke 14:21).
However for the natural mind to appreciate the information presented, it often ought to be complicated and exclusive and not so simple to the point that anyone could have a share of what ought to be solved by an intelligent quotient.
For man to probably receive it without reservations it must be an exclusive message that could be bought by some huge savings or secured by sheer physical power, or understood by a complicated philosophy.
At the outset of the message of salvation in the book of Acts, many intelligent minds asked: “What must we do to be saved?” (Acts 2:37).
They felt there must be some heavy lifting to the answer of salvation either through more complicated worship and mysteries.
However the answer from the Apostles was simple yet so strange to their ears:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”. (Acts 16:31).
The natural inclination of our mindset prevent many from trusting in Jesus, and this mindset must be questioned.
For the Pharisees who rejected Jesus as the Messiah and for the many who initially believed in Him but later deserted Him, Jesus did not fit in their mindset of a political and a conquering King who will deliver them from Roman oppression.
For some of His followers who deserted Him, they couldn’t understand why Jesus emphasized the spiritual over their physical needs, why he laid more emphasis on the things that are eternal over their temporal needs. (John 6:26).
These teachings were so simple to the point of confusing them since they are used to appreciating only complicated messages and rituals.
They sought him because of bread and not because of His life saving words.
If we would have Jesus as our Lord and Savior and grow in His word into full maturity and bear fruits for Him, it must start with fixing our mindset and questioning the assumptions preventing the light of God from penetrating our hearts and minds.
Faith in Jesus is a simple mindset that believes in all Jesus said about Himself, and beyond that, that mindset also expects Jesus to act on his promises. This is the life-saving faith that overcomes all things.
Today, Jesus offers you a simple syllabus over the complexities of life, and you must not allow your complex mindset to prevent you from accepting what Jesus offers: a victorious life that overcomes the world of tribulations.
That’s why He said unless we become like little children we will not gain access into the Kingdom of heaven nor be able to access the abundant life that he offers. (Mathew 18:3).
Reading: (John 6:41-69).
