The Chair

In the 1800s, John Paton was a missionary in the southwestern Pacific islands.  To reach the islanders for Christ, he began to translate the Scripture.

Before long, he ran into a major hurdle.  They had no word equivalent to our word “believe.”  Nothing came close.  For several weeks, John struggled to find the word or phrase to help these people know what it meant to believe.

One day, a worker came into John’s office, worn out from a hard day.  He collapsed into a nearby chair.  As he stretched and put his legs up on another chair.  As he breathed a contented sigh of relief, he told John it felt good to lean his whole weight on those chairs.

That was it!  “Lean my whole weight on.”  He’d finally found the right words to explain the concept “to believe.”

To “lean my whole weight on” brings to mind something I can totally rest in and depend upon.  The fact that I can lean my whole weight upon something has nothing to do with the strength of my belief.  It has everything to do with the object in which I’m putting my belief.

Believing in God has nothing to do with the strength or size of our belief, but it has everything to do with the One in whom we believe.

Friend, when you tell others about Christ, be very clear about what you’re communicating.  Don’t take for granted that people will understand what it means to believe.

Tell them what Scripture says about the object of our belief:  He is the Creator of the universe, all-knowing, and all-powerful, the Holy One, faithful and true, the Great Shepherd, love.

Lean the whole weight of your world upon Him—your cares, your concerns, your heartaches. That is the essence of the gospel.  That is what you need to communicate to your friends.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  —Proverbs 3:5

By Vonette Bright

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