Let me stop trying to sound like a scholar and speak to you from my heart. I have had multiple conversations with people that are searching like you and hold similar values and beliefs that you hold. Most recently is my brother-in-law, who like you is brilliant and searching. What struck me as odd is that he was using a logic that you rarely us in your everyday life. In your search for God, you are essentially saying, "Until I can fully grasp and understand this idea of God/Jesus, I will not acknowledge it as true" You and I dont used this logic during our everyday life. When I get in may car, I dont say, I will not drive it until I can understand ever aspect of it. Or you dont wait to get on a plane until you can fully grasp or understand the aerodynamics and deep engineering of the plane, you still get on that plane. Why do you get on that plane? Because it is undeniable that it will fly because you have seen it all your life. But when it comes to God, you feel the need to fully understand him before summiting. However, in your life, you have seen countless people changed, and seen them hold firm to what they believe. Although it is unexplainable when they say it was Jesus who changed them, it is also undeniable that their claim is that a personal relationship with Jesus is what caused the change, on top of the fact that they truly are changed and hold strong to their belief. To be honest with you, I will never claim that I do not have doubts about God or that I fully understand God. I have doubts just like you, but to me that is OK. I believe that you can be a Christian without all of the answers, I assume you feel differently.
Here is what I am trying to say. Having all of the answers is not what makes someone a Christian. What makes someone a Christian is when an adult becomes personal w/ Jesus. Truth be told, there is an answer for every question that you have. Actually if you were to ask me a question, I can almost guaranty that there are endless books out there that were written to answer your question. It is almost comical when people think they they are the first to have questions or doubts. The same questions have been being asked for hundreds of years. However the books that are out there and their answers usually will just arise more questions for us to ponder on. And at the end of they day you will be no closer to God, you will just me more informed. My point is this, I did not become a Christian or find meaning to my life through information, I found it through a personal relationship.
Think of it like this. I can give you all of the reasons why not to get married to a person. Your with 1 person forever, forever is a long time, we dont have enough money, can you really trust each other, what if you get bored with each other, you'll lose your independence, 1 sexual partner forever, the list can go on and on. All of those are good questions as well as true information. However, when I substitute the "hypothetical person" that I would be marrying, and instead put in the mix Beth, it is different. No longer am I just marring a hypothetical person, no, I am marrying Beth. Beth is someone who I love, who I have a relationship with. Although there are still doubts, those doubts are overridden by the relationship. The same is true with Jesus. The reason that me, and billions of others in the world have been able to become Christians as intelligent adults, is not because their questions were answered, but instead God became personal and our doubts became smaller.
The reason that you will never be able to change my mind on Jesus is because I know Jesus. I know him being a reality as much as I know I am married to Beth. It's personal to me. Because Jesus is personal to me, my doubts and questions become smaller because God has become bigger. On the flip side, I also know that I will never be able to convince you that Jesus is who he really says he is because to you it is not personal, instead it is informational. And Theologically, (not philosophically or scientifically) I believe that scripture is clear that until Jesus reveals himself to you and calls you, you will not come to him. (That is another argument for another day) With that being said, maybe through these conversations and your current circumstances, God wants to use this to draw you to him. That is my prayer for you.
Here is what I am trying to say. Having all of the answers is not what makes someone a Christian. What makes someone a Christian is when an adult becomes personal w/ Jesus. Truth be told, there is an answer for every question that you have. Actually if you were to ask me a question, I can almost guaranty that there are endless books out there that were written to answer your question. It is almost comical when people think they they are the first to have questions or doubts. The same questions have been being asked for hundreds of years. However the books that are out there and their answers usually will just arise more questions for us to ponder on. And at the end of they day you will be no closer to God, you will just me more informed. My point is this, I did not become a Christian or find meaning to my life through information, I found it through a personal relationship.
Think of it like this. I can give you all of the reasons why not to get married to a person. Your with 1 person forever, forever is a long time, we dont have enough money, can you really trust each other, what if you get bored with each other, you'll lose your independence, 1 sexual partner forever, the list can go on and on. All of those are good questions as well as true information. However, when I substitute the "hypothetical person" that I would be marrying, and instead put in the mix Beth, it is different. No longer am I just marring a hypothetical person, no, I am marrying Beth. Beth is someone who I love, who I have a relationship with. Although there are still doubts, those doubts are overridden by the relationship. The same is true with Jesus. The reason that me, and billions of others in the world have been able to become Christians as intelligent adults, is not because their questions were answered, but instead God became personal and our doubts became smaller.
The reason that you will never be able to change my mind on Jesus is because I know Jesus. I know him being a reality as much as I know I am married to Beth. It's personal to me. Because Jesus is personal to me, my doubts and questions become smaller because God has become bigger. On the flip side, I also know that I will never be able to convince you that Jesus is who he really says he is because to you it is not personal, instead it is informational. And Theologically, (not philosophically or scientifically) I believe that scripture is clear that until Jesus reveals himself to you and calls you, you will not come to him. (That is another argument for another day) With that being said, maybe through these conversations and your current circumstances, God wants to use this to draw you to him. That is my prayer for you.
1 comment:
This was a really good one. I like your analogies that you used. Well done. So, who is this person you're "conversing" with?
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