My beliefs, in a nutshell

I am a Christian.

That means, simply, that I am a follower of Jesus, whom I call the Christ (Greek for 'Saviour'). Now, this concerns something very important to me; a matter very close to my heart. I consider this to be the most crucial and pressing issue that's faced the world throughout all of time - what they believe in concerning God and life.

There has to be more to life than what can be seen with our eyes. Surely, life is too precious, too beautiful to be explained away as a result of eons of genetic mutations; that the sunset takes our breath away because of a series of hormonal/molecular reactions within our brain - there has to be more.

That I cherish life, that I can know and experience deep love and pure joy, that I have within me a desire to live for something greater than myself - they're mere echoes of the divine impulse that first started the world, the force that thrusts life into existence. And this impulse is of God, and His force is love.

Yet the beautiful irony is that this love does not force, but rather compels. We have been created to enjoy this love this life given us, and if we don't feel naturally compelled to love God, it's because we have not seen Him clearly yet.

Like a thick veil, this age has shrouded our view and experience of God with worldly pleasures, possessions, promises of acceptance through the pursuit of status and knowledge - all meant to be done and enjoyed in their right place, but fleeting nonetheless, and definitely distracting from God.

Now, what do we actually know about God and this world around us? Here are the facts:

• God created the world and all in it. He made man to be most cherished of His creation and fashioned him in His own image, giving him the capacity to have a relationship with God Himself.

• Man rebelled, but God pursued. Man fell further and further away from God by rejecting Him and living their own lives, seeking to achieve things on their own, thinking that they could do without Him.

• God continued to seek out man, revealing Himself personally to those who still believed in Him and reaching out to others through them. He sent messengers and chosen people to tell His creation to repent and return to Him, but they would not listen.

• Finally, God sent His only Son in human likeness to live among man; to commune and speak to them on their level. Those who believed in Him were saved, but many rejected, and it resulted in the murder of God's Son Himself - Jesus

• Through this act, Jesus paid the penalty that mankind should have paid through years and years of rejecting God - by His death He reconciled that broken relationship between Man and God. He brought us back to our creator, and rescued us from an eternity without God, which would surely be hell.

And this is why He's called Saviour, or Christ. All we have to do now is simply believe. That story I described above is pretty much a summary of the entire Christian Bible. And I have decided, that if that God does exist, I want to know Him, and let myself be known fully known by Him. I want to get my directions in life from Him, who was the very One who gave me breath in the first place.

What does this mean to me? It means that I don't have to try to be anything more than what I already am, because God has accepted me and sees me as perfect through His Son. It means that I can face each day with the hope and promise that nothing's going to happen that God will not be able to see me through. I'd like to challenge you, if you've not decided so already, to believe in this same God as well. He will not force you, for sure; that's never been His style. There's a psalm (song) in the bible which says "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). God does tell us that He is good, in the bible, but He also says "taste and see" to find out for yourself. That is, in effect, Him saying "try me out". "Give me a go". And I can testify that you will not regret. The Christian life is difficult, definitely, but I cannot think of anything more meaningful.

This is what I believe, and through my life, and the lives of many others, know to be very true. This God has remained perfectly faithful to me, even when I can be faithless, or unfaithful. He has always lavished His love on me, even though I can be so unlovely. He has not failed me ever.

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If you wanna find out more, ask your Christian friends more about this stuff, or visit any Christian church nearby. There'll definitely be people there who'll be glad to talk to you more about this. Or, email me at tmd88@hotmail.com

Tell me what you think about my sharing, or any thoughts/issues you have concerning Christianity in general. Challenge my faith too, if you want! I really believe that faith is not faith unless there is the opportunity to doubt.

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." - C S Lewis, Mere Christianity