Commitment to the cause.

     The work of God is this: To believe in the one He has sent. John 6:29.

     The kind of faith that Jesus mentions here is not an intellectual kind of belief. It is not merely assenting to Biblical facts as true, or adhering to certain creeds or doctrines in thought only. What Jesus refers to is a total commitment to the cause of Christ. This is a faith that works by love (Gal 5:6), it produces works (James 2:14-26), and rather than making void the law of God, it upholds it (Romans 3:31).
     Take the second amendment for example. Someone owns a firearm, and believes in the right to keep and bear arms. They see that the NRA champions their cause so they become a member, send the donations, write letters to congressmen, make phone calls, and whatever else they are asked to do. They do this because they believe in gun rights and see this organization as fighting for them. They willingly make these sacrifices because they believe in the cause!
     In a similar way Christ calls us to forsake all and follow Him. We are to seek first His kingdom and righteousness. He is Lord and requires a total commitment of all we have and are. If we truly believe this we will act upon our belief. If we say that we love Him we will obey Him because love means we are seeking the highest interest of the one we love. This is how faith works, by love. This is how we see that love is the fulfilling of the law, and why faith without works is a dead faith.
     Jesus came to save us from our sins and to remake us into a holy, peculiar people, zealous to please Him. He calls us to follow Him by faith, to love Him with an all consuming love. This love will work itself out in our prayer life, study of the word, worship, how we treat others, witnessing, and however else we can advance the kingdom of God. Are you commited to the cause?