I am not studied in Christian apologetics (defense of the faith) – but I know it is important to be able to answer the question: “Why is your way the right way?”
The most basic answer to me is that I just know. I know because I feel peace, contentment and joy that is not based on my circumstances but on the fact that the emptiness God created within me (that can only be filled with him) is filled. I do not feel a longing for “something more”. I do not find myself caught in the “search for myself” craze that has popularized self-help books and daytime talk shows these days. And I am very thankful for that.
Another thing I’ve come to know was stated perfectly by my son when he was asked at confirmation why he believed. – It’s the only thing that makes sense!
I have learned from God’s word that he reveals his mysteries to people in his own time – so I understand that to some it may not yet seem as obvious as it does to me. But none if the “theories” I hear that present creation apart from God or salvation apart from Jesus seem to fit.
How can we break creation down to the tiniest molecule and not ask where that molecule originated?
How can we imagine that a random explosion came from nothing and suddenly everything was there?
How can we believe that the amazing intricacies of our body and soul were created only to walk this earth for a short time and then that’s it? Or that if we make the grade we can keep coming back to this earth in a different body … over and over?
And if we do hope for eternity with God, how can we believe that the way to get there is to simply be “good”? Good by whose standards? Who must I be better than? Does God grade on a bell curve or is it a straight percentage? Is he looking for 90% goodness? Would 80% cut it? I don’t want my eternity to be decided on how “good” I am, because quite frankly – no matter how hard I might try I am guaranteed to blow it once in a while.
What does make sense to me is that there is a God who by his Word created the universe, the world, and humanity. And because he created us in his image to have a relationship with him – he also came up with a way to make that happen. Our filthy sins have no place in his presence – but Hallelujah, Jesus died to wash them away.
To put your hope in anything else has to leave you wondering.
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Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:1, 3, 6 NIV)
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. (Colossians 1:15-17 NLT)