Just Believe

Our faith begins and ends with Jesus. 

Last week Randy and I had a chance to spend four days with our grand boys in Buford without parents around.  During the time there, we watched some of the traditional Christmas movies including The Polar Express which is one of my all time favorites.  The book and movie are magical for many reasons, but the theme, I believe, is the best analogy  of those of us who miss out on hearing the bells because we don’t believe.

When we arrived for our stay, we heard about how upsetting it was to Reese that the Elf on the Shelf hadn’t moved one day.  Now Reese didn’t believe anymore.  It took a trip to see Santa where the Elf was refilled with the spirit of Christmas to allow Reese to believe again.   The belief is restored, and the bells can be heard.

Isn’t it so like us?  We have those times when we can hear the bells ring loudly and we believe in God, His word, and His plan for us.  Then, He doesn’t come through for us as we think He should, our life doesn’t go as planned, or tragedy strikes, and suddenly, we can’t hear the bells of love and we forget to believe.

Often if we can’t see God or can’t see Him at work, then we just don’t believe He’s there.  The Conductor in the movie had a great point on this when he said,  Seeing is believing, just remember sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we cannot see.  Only when we put aside our doubt and believe can we actually see and allow ourselves to relate to Him.  God can’t be actually seen visibly or adequately explained or proven intellectually.  Only when we believe does His light illuminate our path.

The train in the movie likens itself to the journey of our life. The conductor says, One thing about trains.  It doesn’t matter where they’re going.  The important thing is deciding to get on.  Life is a journey of ups and downs, highs and lows, but when we choose God as our Savior, we have made the decision to “get on” and let Him lead us to our eternal destination.

The joy and hope of this movie reminds me that all of us hope for the peace and delight that the children experienced. Perhaps at Christmas more than any other time, we long to possess that fulfillment and satisfaction deep down in our souls.  The good news is that it is available to each of us.  Just as Santa gave the young boy a bell as a reminder of him, God places in each of our hearts the Holy Spirit as a reminder of the fabulous future which awaits us as Christians.

During this Christmas season, just believe and wait to see all that God can do!