I heard a definition of belief as being “whatever you put your weight on to move forward.” For an elderly or disabled person that might be a walker or a cane. For someone who is injured, it’s perhaps a crutch. We believe these items will bear our weight and enable us to progress in the way we want to go. If we didn’t believe they could hold our weight—whether that was true or not—we’d be stuck where we are. Too afraid to trust the walking aid, we’d sit paralyzed and depend on the world to come to us.
It’s the same with our spiritual and mental life. If we don’t believe something, we will not take any action on it. But all of us depend on something to get us out of bed in the morning, make plans, earn money, and live our lives. We all put our weight on someone or something.
There is no greater decision we will make in life than in whom or on what we will believe. None of us can make it on our own. Life is too difficult, too emotionally violent for us to navigate without a belief in something or someone who can carry the weight for us when it gets too heavy. Someone who will pick us up when life knocks us down yet again. Where we place our faith matters. If what we choose to lean on has no foundation, it will crumble and come crashing down around us. If it’s too weak, we’ll fall and be worse off than before we ever leaned on it in the first place. What you believe matters, and you better be certain it will carry your weight until death.
Nothing on earth or made by man will hold your weight for eternity. We are surrounded by the finite and yet must prepare for the infinite. As we travel through life, we need to lean on someone or something that will always be there, always support us, and always help us get where we’re going. I submit only Jesus can fill the bill. No one or anything else comes close. Only Jesus has defeated death. Only He is the Son of God. And only He loves you so much that He gave His life in place of yours. Only Jesus bore your every sin and only Jesus can forgive them all.
Where you place your belief matters. You can trust your wealth, but it will eventually be lost or passed on to someone else. Trust in your health and exercise regimen and discover that decay and death come for us all. And if you trust in Mohamed, Buddha, or any of the millions of gods of Hinduism, you will find what is behind the curtain is nothing more than a man or a legend. Only Jesus is divine, and only He is God.
You can try to navigate this life on your own, but you will fail. You can place your belief in religion, science, or fate, and you will find a wide and well-traveled path that leads to nothing but despair. Or you can place your faith in Jesus. He is worthy of your belief and more than able to carry your weight throughout eternity. In who or what are you placing your weight to move forward? There is only one right choice. Jesus said no one would come to God except through Him (John 14:6). If your belief is in Jesus, you will find comfort, support, and eternal life. He is the only way.