In John 6:27, Jesus told the crowds to spend their labor on that which is eternal not temporary. And in verse 28, they responded by asking Him to explain. They wanted to know – as most people do – what kind of WORKS please God. And in verse 29, Jesus answered them in a completely unexpected way. Instead of telling them to pray, read the Bible, attend church, evangelize, tithe, love enemies, and feed the poor – along with a hundred other things we might have expected Him to say – He told them that BELIEVEING in HIM is the DOING God is looking for from us.
Now, when we hear this, most of us can’t help but think there’s got to be more to it. That’s just too easy. Surely, pleasing God requires something more labor-intensive than that. Belief is just too simple.
But hold on, just because something is simple doesn’t mean it isn’t challenging. Climbing a mountain isn’t complicated but it’s also not easy. Placing my faith in Jesus is pretty straightforward but living it out requires everything I’ve got. Trusting Him means placing my life, my future, my security, my provision – all that I am – in His hands.
And that’s why John 6:29 makes a lot of us uncomfortable. We’d prefer a list – no matter how long and complex – of things we need to DO to please God because checking off a to-do list doesn’t require surrendering control. Belief does.
So, we tend to want to add layers of DOING to our relationship with God. It makes us feel like we’re in the driver’s seat. But it also leads to spiritual exhaustion because our sin has made it impossible to ever DO enough.
So, let’s keep it simple. Let’s just scoot over to the passenger side and give Him the wheel. Let’s give up our DOING and rest in what He’s DONE.