Why I believe God

Hmm, well, I said it might be a while before I wrote more but now that I started thinking about it, I can't seem to stop so I'm just going to write out all that I've been pondering regarding my belief in God.

 This pondering stems partially from the recent news that someone I grew up with, who attended church with me for at least part of my life, has decided that Christianity and all religion is foolish and there really is no god. I think there are probably a lot more issues involved but just the fact that one could examine fully all the tenets of Christian life and come to the conclusion that none of it is true kind of threw me. It made me really think- Why do I believe this? Is it that I have just been spoon fed my whole life and so I just spout out all that was poured into me? Is there really any foundation for my belief?

Well, let me answer that with a resounding, YES, there is a foundation. Maybe I did grow up always going to church and learning about Jesus but that doesn't mean that I never tried to walk away from Him. It doesn't mean that I don't know what life without Jesus could look like. As simplistic as this may sound, I believe God because He has acted in my life. Without God, I have no doubt that I would be a broken mess of a person. I could give specific examples of times that I know without a doubt that God intervened to save me from my inevitable self-destruction. There is no other explanation. God has saved me.

My kids and I are studying how different world religions started this year in our history studies and as we've talked about the beginning of Islam and the beginning of Buddhism specifically. I've really thought about why some people believe these teachings so passionately and disregard Christianity. When I first read about Buddhism, for example, I get it. I understand why the people of that day wanted something else to believe in, some way to make sense of all the pain and suffering of the world. What I don't really understand is why they thought that they could ever make everything right themselves- even the fact that they wanted there to be justice cries out that there must be One who is ultimately the definition of justice. When I read about all that, it just makes me sad to think of how many people are trying to save themselves.  Kara, my 7 year old, said after studying this "So, the difference is that with Jesus, we are free, right?" There's no better way to say it.

I can say without a doubt that I cannot save myself. I do know that I need to be saved. I know that there is an absolute good and an absolute evil and there is no way on my own that I can ever be good or measure up to that absolute standard.

What I want to say is that this is not just a "Sunday School', childish, immature belief. I KNOW that God is real, that He demands justice, that He offers mercy through the cross, that for some reason He loved me enough to reach down into my mess and save me. It wouldn't matter at all if I said "Well, I've examined all the evidence and I don't believe there is a God". He wouldn't cease to exist anymore than a child disappears when she covers her eyes. God doesn't need me to believe in Him. He exists completely apart from me but I know that I cannot exist, really live, except in Him and through Him.

Praise His Name.