“Knowing and believing are two different things.”

Many of you have probably read or at least heard about the Left Behind series written by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. The premise of the story is millions of people are raptured and millions more are left behind and the series progresses through the entire 7 years of tribulation until the Glorious Appearing of Jesus for the final judgment. Well, in recent years the first two books in the series, Left Behind and Tribulation Force, were made into movies. One day while in Wal-Mart, Andrew and I are looking through the $5.50 DVD bin and I came across the first movie which is based on the first book, Left Behind. Today I am watching the movie and after the rapture has taken place and everyone is searching for answers and full scale hysteria is taking over, one of the main characters, Rayford Steele, is left behind with his daughter Chloe and he lost his wife Irene and son Raymie in the rapture. Ray starts to figure things out when he starts to look at his wife’s Bible and goes to the church which she attended. There he finds one of the pastors who was left behind as well. Ray walks into the church just as the pastor named Bruce is having somewhat of a conversation with God (letting out his frustrations which so many of us have done). Bruce, being a pastor knew the Word of God, he spoke it and preached it to hundreds of people every Sunday, but he just didn’t get it, because he was left behind. Then he said a sentence that just really struck me, I had to pause the movie and run upstairs to grab my laptop so that I could write this post is stuck me so hard, like I am literally sitting in my basement typing on my laptop with the movie paused just so that I can write this post, but Bruce says, “Knowing and believing are two different things, I’m living a lie.” And then he falls to his knees and screams out and asks God for forgiveness and just one more chance, and most importantly, to be used by God. Then, Ray comes up behind him, putting his hand on Bruce’s shoulder and says, “he already has, he already has.” This is an amazing part of the movie, Bruce has come to rock bottom and he knows exactly what has happened and there is nothing he can do about it, but what has struck me the most are those 7 words he spoke, “Knowing and believing are two different things.” That is so true, are we truly, honestly believing, or do we just know, living a lie and putting on an act. Which is it, just basic knowledge, or faith? One thing I have noticed is, and tell me if I’m wrong, but knowledge can be shared, but faith can be expressed, it can be shown, which is what makes it real. Faith becomes real when it is shown and shared. We can’t just go through life only knowing God, that doesn’t cut it. We have to know God, trust Him, live in and through Him, share Him, show Him, teach about Him, and most importantly, believe in Him. I don’t know how the “end times” will transpire, it doesn’t make much of a difference to me, all I know is that when it comes to the end, the only thing that is going to matter then is a whole-hearted faith in the Lord, nothing else will matter.