Tues., 5/26/15 Devotion (1 Jn. 5:12)

Today's encouragement comes from 1 John 5:12, where we read these words:

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

This is a very straightforward scripture (above). If a soul has Jesus, that soul has life. If a soul lacks Jesus, that soul has no life. If this is true—which it clearly is—then most people do not have life. No matter what else they pos-sess, they are devoid of the most important and vital principle of existence: being "alive" spiritually, (or, in the soul).

Therefore we must ask: "*How* do we *get* this life? Do we have to work for it, beat ourselves up (in order to get it), or become extremely religious (to pro-cure it)?" No; none of this will suffice. We must have *faith* in Jesus. Saving faith fetches Christ to our hearts; and He (alone) gives us life.(Cf. 1 Jn. 5:4 in this regard.)

[Puritan quote of the day: "We do not live by feeling, but by faith. It is the duty of a Christian to begin with faith, and so to rise up to feeling.” —William Bridge, in, "A Lifting Up for the Downcast"]