Suppose that someone approaches you today, and asks you why you believe in Christ. It could happen, so what will your response be? There are lots of things we say we “believe” in. Democracy, healthy eating, and friendship to name a few. Heck, as a young child I believed in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, too.
But what does real belief entail? Usually, before I start writing, I like to look up the dictionary definition, to get the worldly take on a term. Here‘s one: to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so. Hmmm, interesting. This seems to imply that we have to test the thing’s reliability before believing in it. So, back to the question. Why do you believe? I’m sure, after a long thoughtful pause, among the many answers will be, “Because that’s what my church/parents etc. tell me to do.” Or, “it’s a private thing.“ But, that’s not what they asked, or need to hear.
Contrary to popular thought, we are not born believing in God, although I do think God has placed a desire in all humans to know him. But, how can you put confidence in anything, if you don’t study it, talk to others about it, and like a car, take it for a test drive. Non-believers want to know how you came about making a personal decision for Christ. What did you do that enabled you to put your full confidence in Him. Well, what did you do? Merely taking somebody else’s word on it, without doing your own investigation, never developed true confidence in anyone or anything.
Jesus never asks us to blindly, mindlessly accept him just because someone told us we should. He proved his authenticity and reliability repeatedly to his disciples, and longs to do the same for us, if we ask him too. Are you studying his word, daily? Do you seek out mature Christians, those who can help you find the answers for yourself. Let me ask you this, are involved in any type of hobby, follow a sports team, exercise program, reading etc.? Don’t you look to increase your knowledge on the subject? Of course you do, I’ve seen all your Facebook posts, but do we seek out Jesus as much as we do recipes, celebrity gossip or sport statistics? Let’s be honest, we can rattle off all kinds of random information on a wide variety of topics that interest us, but not when it comes to the subject of Jesus, not so much. Oh, there are lots of posts with Christian sounding messages, that come from other sources, but what comes from you?
Going back to the definition, it says that after compiling all the facts we make a decision based on them. It doesn’t say we have to know everything, but that there is enough evidence to put our faith in it. The author of Hebrews backs that up when he wrote this, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1. We’re never going to know everything, but we can make an informed decision on the person of Jesus Christ. So, are you giving some thought to your response…great!! Remember, before we can answer, without hesitation, to the unbeliever, we must answer to Christ, when he asks us if we believe in Him. "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiah." Mark 8:29. There is an uninformed world of people waiting to hear your testimony, be prepared! Remember, they don’t want to know how much theology you know, but rather how Christ has made a difference in your life. It is our privilege to respond joyfully!
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15.
No comments:
Post a Comment