Faith

Christians are weird. I am a Christian, and I am proud of it, but I could completely understand why you would think I am weird.

No one sprints full speed ahead when it's dark and they can't see anything. One, it's kinda scary. Two, it's not entirely safe. You can't see if you're about to run into something, trip over something or fall into something. It's just a bunch of unknown somethings.

So what do we do when it's dark and we can't see what's ahead? We carry on- cautiously. We tread slowly, put our hands out in front of us and take it one very small step at a time.

I put my trust in God, someone none of us can physically see. I can imagine what He looks like. I can see Him in the beautiful things He has created. I can see Him in the miracles He has performed. But he is not a physically seen God; He's not a statue...and I thank Him for that! A golden cow statue does nothing, but my God can do anything!

How exciting?!

So yeah, I can't see the guy I would follow to the end of the Earth, but I trust Him. I call it faith, the rest of the world most likely calls it crazy, but that's okay. I don't really know how to explain why I trust God so much because I can't say I am a very trusting person. However, I know a life without God is one I never want to experience.

I have been a Christian my whole life, so I can't say I've experienced "the dark times." I've never had a tragic backstory like some of the others, but there have been times in my life where I kind of put God on the  back burner and He wasn't a priority. During those times I did notice a difference in my life. I often times feel less. Less happy, less confident, less energetic, just...less. And I don't like it. So that's one reason I put so much faith in God because I notice the difference He makes in my life. He is truly a life changing God.

A lot of my faith in God is because of what I have read in the Bible. Now, why do I believe in the Bible? If I am being perfectly honest, it's because I want to. It's what gives me hope, guidance, confidence and direction. It is what empowers me, inspires me and directs me. If I read the Bible and didn't believe what it was telling me, it would kind of defeat the purpose of reading it.

You see, I am sure I could find hope, confidence, direction and all of those other things previously mentioned elsewhere, but the source of those things would be unstable. I could find confidence in a boy who thought I was cute, I could find hope in a cute story I read on the internet or I could gain direction from a friend.

But that boy isn't going to be there forever, that story will only be popular for a week, and that friend could really just be telling me what they think I want to hear, not the truth. These things are not everlasting. But the word of God is. That is what makes me excited. That is why I trust in the words written on each page of that giant book.

I imagine hearing, "I believe in the Bible because I want to," is not very reassuring to most people. So here are a few facts about the Bible: It was written by forty different authors, on three different continents, over 1500 years, in three different languages...and it tells one big giant story that flows perfectly, never contradicting itself.

It's flawless. In my opinion, that right there is proof of God, and you don't even have to read what the Bible has to say, (although I do recommend reading it).

I believe in the Bible, which tells me a lot about who God is, what He wants and what He has done, can do, and will do. Reading leads to more prayer, and more prayer leads to a stronger relationship with my God, which is the most important thing in the world to me. And that relationship exists simply because I have faith in an awesome God and I work to strengthen that faith and that relationship daily.

Now I understand that sounds ridiculous because why bother building a relationship with someone I can't have a typical, earthly relationship with? Well, why not? Here is the worst case scenario: I die and it turns out there really is no afterlife and I just sit in the dirt for the rest of the world's existence. And while I was alive, I had a relationship with someone that ends up not really existing but because of that relationship I lived a happy life, in which I felt confident, strong and experienced true joy and was able to accomplish some awesome things.

We have nothing to lose by having this relationship with God. But without this relationship, we could lose everything. If everything I believe is true, and someone didn't have a relationship with God, they will go through their whole life alone. Sure they might have friends, a family and success, but I believe God can do truly amazing things in a person's life, so what if that person had God in their life? Imagine their success, imagine how much better their relationships with friends and family would be. And after they die, if they don't have that relationship with God, they won't be with God in the end. That makes me so sad.

I understand having faith in something you cannot see must sound ridiculous, perhaps even dangerous, just like running into darkness full speed ahead. However, having something to believe in gives me more hope, joy and confidence unlike anything else. Even though I can't see my God, I feel His presence, I know He's there and I know He's fighting for me. And that makes me feel safe. Yes, faith is a weird thing, and it is rather hard to explain. But the relationship I have with my God has impacted me so much, that to me, it makes more sense to believe in Him rather than not to.