John 10:42

Many of those who came to the river believed in Jesus while there. John 10:42 EFP

This is one of those “glass half-empty or half-full” verses. It is heart-warming to reflect on the fact that many of the people that came out to see Jesus while he was by the Jordan River came to the point of faith in Him and accepted Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.

What strikes me today are the ones who did not come to the point of belief. They were obviously in the minority, as you would expect since the people at the river had actually walked over 100 miles to get to the Jordan. There was something that pulled them there. They knew who Jesus was. They had heard him preach. They had seen him perform mighty miracles. So they came. Perhaps they heard him speak and saw him heal some more people while at the river. Then…they went home. No decision to follow. No commitment to become a disciple. Nothing. They just went home and went on with life without Jesus.

It is sad when I think about it. To go through the motions; to invest the time and energy, only to fail to experience faith and reap the benefits of the believer: joy, peace, love, patience, and such. I can spend my entire life surrounded by Jesus, invested in the practice of Jesus-related things, attending Jesus events, even reading Jesus books and singing Jesus songs, only to discover at the end of my life that I never committed to a Jesus relationship. What a waste. I don’t get it, but it is no doubt possible based on the reality of the fact that are millions of Christians who take on the name without any interest in committing to the cost that comes with discipleship.