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Believe and Have
Believing is receiving. The word in some form occurs forty-four times in John’s gospel, which is the great gospel of “believing.” From the first chapter on it is constantly repeated … believed … believeth, believing … believest … etc.
“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). The word “even” indicates that believing is equivalent to receiving. You may, in any one of those forty-four instances in this gospel, put in the word “receive” in place of the word “believe” and still make good sense of the verse.
You have what you take, do you not? It is a simple thing to take what is given to you, and so to have it. That is practically all there is to faith. We may make faith sound complicated by talking too much about it, leading others to think that there is something obscure or mysterious connected with it.
Faith is simple: it is taking God at His word. Just as you can put forth your hand and receive a gift, so you are able to put forth your spiritual hand and receive the gift of God, even Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
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