Some thoughts on the most popular verse in the world.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

What does it mean to truly "believe in Him?" Is this just a superficial understanding of believing, as in "I believe Jesus was a historical figure." A good man. A wise teacher. Maybe even a prophet or the long-awaited Messiah. Some will even go so far as to acknowledge Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead three days later, but they keep it all at the dangerous intellectual "belief that" level.

The problem is, the context of John 3:16 shows that God requires more than just a nodding of our heads in agreement with the basic facts about his Son. Yes, that's an important first step, but we need to go beyond merely believing that Jesus is who he claimed he is, to actually believing in Jesus. The Greek word that is translated in the verse as believe literally means "to be persuaded of...to place confidence in, to trust...[It is] reliance upon, not mere credence."

I love Mark Mittelberg's explanation of this difference with an illustration that has helped many people. He says, "When this church service is over, I'm heading to the airport to fly back home. But it's not enough for me to sit in the terminal and believe that airplanes fly. Just acknowledging the soundness of aviation science will never get me home. I have to go beyond mere belief that airplanes fly to a personal belief in the particular airplane that's heading to my city - demonstrated by climbing on board. It's that act of trust that will ultimately get me where I want to go."

"Similarly," Mark continues, "we all need to go beyond merely believing that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins. We must take the next step and trust in him personally, asking him to forgive our sins and to lead our lives. That is the equivalent of 'climbing on board' with Jesus in a way that will ultimately get us where we want to go spiritually."

It's very easy to fall into the trap that intellectual belief is enough but remember, intellectual belief can only change your mind. Belief in (being sincerely reliant on Christ for everything) will change your heart and bring you an underlying Joy that can only come from our Creator.