Are You In Good Hands? - The One Year Unlocking the Bible Devotional
Are You in Good Hands?
You believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. James 2:19
There is all the difference in the world between saying that you believe in Jesus and signing yourself over to him for radical spiritual surgery. James’s point is that simply holding certain beliefs about God is of no saving value whatsoever.
The demons are all too aware that God exists, that his Son, Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin, died on the cross, rose on the third day, sent the Holy Spirit, and is coming again to judge the living and the dead. They know all that, and they tremble when they think about it!
But one thing they’ll never do is come to Christ and say, “Lord Jesus, do your surgery on me. Reconstruct my life in your image. Deal with my selfishness and pride, and reshape my life in your image.” They refuse to put themselves in his hands.
The central claim of Christianity is not that we have a better set of beliefs. It is that Jesus Christ is able to do what nobody else who has ever lived can do. He can restore the image of God in you. He can reconstruct what sin has devastated in your life. He can rebuild your life. No one else can do that.
If your body needed radical surgery, you would do all kinds of research on the abilities of different physicians. Then you would place yourself in the hands of the one you trusted with your life. Faith is placing yourself in the hands of Christ to do whatever he has to do to restore the image and likeness of God in you.
Have you come to Christ in that way, or are you among those who have reduced Christianity to a set of beliefs but have never placed themselves in the hands of the Great Physician for major reconstructive surgery? A set of beliefs will never save you. True faith only brings you to Christ, who does the restorative work.
For further reading, see James 2
