Whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world: our faith. Who is it who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
The formula seems simple: say that Jesus is the Son of God and you will win at life.
It was a welcome message for first century poor people living under the Roman occupation, constantly under attack from The World and in need of literal saving from it.
To have a promise in Scripture that not only would they survive persecution, they would actually win?!? That would be a miracle.
But the miracle does not get delivered through superior numbers nor in strength of arms.
Nor is it delivered by replacing doubt with belief, but by trusting. Faith in God is trusting that the Kin-dom, which is being divinely created - born of God - that this new thing will be better.
All that is required for successfully resisting evil, even overcoming it - is that same trust: that what God did in Jesus Christ mattered then and matters still.
Today, when someone makes a claim to you about something unlikely, a long shot, or poor odds, try trusting that they know what they’re talking about. How might you show them that you trust what they're offering in that moment?
-- Kate Davoli
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