Dear church,

I’ve been thinking about “the three” – the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These testify to the truth about Jesus Christ and the eternal life he gives to those who believe in him.

Two of these three are quite earthly and simple. Water and blood are common. We like to see one of them. Water is good. Most of us would prefer not to see the other – blood.

But both are necessary for life. We won’t get far without water and blood.

The water in 1 John refers to Jesus’ baptism. It was a moment in time when the Holy Spirit confirmed the identity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Read the gospel accounts about Jesus’ baptism if you have time.

The blood, of course, refers to Jesus death on the cross. Here was another testimony to Jesus’ identity – human and divine, dead but raised again.

These two “testifiers” are quite earthly and simple. And then there is the Holy Spirit. Completely divine.

And so there is earthly testimony to the good news of Christ, and there is divine testimony.

We probably put a lot of weight on earthly testimony. We’re a scientific kind of people. And so we like the idea of eyewitnesses and physical evidence, which we have in people like John (1 John 1:1-4).

But, frankly, some people are not going to be convinced by arguments like these. No matter how much physical evidence they receive, they simply will not believe. Divine testimony is needed.

Fortunately, the Holy Spirit can break into a person’s life and make all things new. A woman named Lydia, outside the city of Philippi, had her heart opened by God to believe the good news (Acts 16:14).

Prayer seems important for us here. We pray for those we know who do not know Jesus Christ and who refuse to believe the earthly, or human, testimony about him. We pray that the Holy Spirit will work a miracle.

Who are you praying for today?

Chris