"Jesus answered,
'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'"
— John 6:29
In our journey through Lent, we often become preoccupied with the "doing"—the fasting, the extra prayers, and the intentional acts of service. Like the crowd in John 6 who asked, "What must we do to do the works God requires?", we possess an innate desire to justify our standing through a checklist of "good actions." We want a formula for being "good people" that we can manage and measure. Yet, Jesus provides a disruptive answer that reorients our entire spiritual economy. He shifts the focus from our many works to a single, foundational "work": belief. As the theologian Oswald Chambers once noted, "The 'work' of the Christian is not a series of acts, but the continuous act of faith in the Person of Jesus Christ." This is the "digging deep" we find in Luke 6:48; it is the realization that before we can produce the "cypress" instead of the "thorn" (Isaiah 55:13), we must be rooted in the One who is the Source of all life.
This does not mean that "good actions" are irrelevant, but rather that their origin must be corrected. If we attempt to do "the works of God" without the "work of God" (belief), we are merely building on sand. True obedience is the natural overflow of a heart that rests entirely in the "gift of God" described in Ephesians 2:8. As C.S. Lewis observed, "Faith is the only thing that can ever make us do the things we should do." When we believe in the One whom God has sent, our actions cease to be a heavy burden of self-improvement and become a joyful response of mercy and justice. We find that our radical hospitality and secret deeds of kindness are no longer tools to earn God’s favor, but are the "good works prepared in advance" for us to walk in because we are already His "handiwork."
Ultimately, the "work of belief" is a daily surrender of our need to be the architects of our own salvation. During this Lenten season, we are invited to stop asking "What must I do?" and start resting in "What He has done." This belief is not a passive mental shrug, but an active, life-shaping trust that reflects the truth of 1 John 3:18, loving "with actions and in truth." When our lives are anchored in the Person of Jesus, our "good actions" become the "everlasting sign" that Isaiah promised—a testimony that God’s Word has watered our souls and accomplished exactly what He desired. By focusing on this one "work," we ensure that every other action we take is built on the Rock, resilient enough to stand through any storm and vibrant enough to bring glory to our Father in heaven.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we confess that we often try to please You with a multitude of tasks while our hearts remain far from You. Teach us the "work" of belief today. Help us to rest so deeply in the One You have sent that our lives naturally overflow with Your love and justice. May our actions be the fruit of our faith, and may our faith be firmly rooted in Your grace. Amen.
