Christianity has always been a part of my life. I was born and raised in a Christian family and I’ve attended church for as long as I can remember. Yes, Christianity was something that was fostered and encouraged throughout my childhood, but there are many “merits” of this faith that convinced me on my own personal level to commit myself to this worldview and lifestyle.
I could probably write a twenty page paper on my Christian faith. However, for time concerns, I will attempt to be concise.
I am a Christian first and foremost because of Christ. The word “Christian”, when broken into its Latin roots, translates to “Christ-like.” Jesus Christ is God’s Son who saves all of us from our sins. Ever since Adam’s fateful disobedience to God thousands of years ago, the earth and all within it have been cursed by sin. This sin, which is inherent in all human beings as a result of Adam’s sin, separates us from God and condemns all of us to hell.
However, this is where Jesus comes in. God loves us, and He sent His son to save us from His own wrath that was our due because of our sins. He came down to the earth, was crucified, and bore the penalty of every sin that you and I have committed. Through this amazing act of love, each of us is forgiven of our sins and can have eternal life in heaven when we die. After three days in the grave, God raised Him from the dead, and shortly thereafter, Jesus ascended into heaven.
A Christian is someone who believes this story, and, out of love, adoration, and thankfulness, tries to be more like Christ (hence the word: “Christian”) and heeds His teachings. I am a Christian because of Jesus’ sacrifice for me. He has forgiven me and given me eternal life. Because of this fact, I can live right now as a young man with hope, peace, and joy, because I know that this life is temporary and my eternal destination is secure. Jesus gives me something to look forward to when things in this life seem grim. I have a purpose in life: to worship the one who saved me from eternal damnation. On top of that, I can have a personal relationship with God; the one who created the heavens and the earth and all within them. For these reasons and many others, I am a Christian.
Many of you may not buy into this whole Christianity idea. In most of my experiences, it is not the merits of Christianity that are questioned, but rather the fundamentals of Christianity itself. It may seem just too strange and too intangible. You may ask: “Prove God exists,” or “Prove the Bible is true.” I can answer both of these questions with questions: “Prove you’re not going to blink in the next twenty seconds. Prove you won’t stop breathing at this instant. Prove you won’t die in the next year.” Do you get the idea? There are a lot of things in life that require us to rely on faith. You have faith that you won’t die in the next year and that you will continue to breathe as you read this blog. The accuracy of the Bible and the existence of God are no exception.
Nevertheless, there is astounding evidence for the accuracy of the Bible. Various historical documents from ancient times recount the same events that are written in the Bible. Archeological expeditions have revealed exquisite accuracy in the documentation of events and geographic locations that are mentioned in the Bible. The accuracy of the Bible is indisputable for these reasons (among others of course).
The astounding fact is that the Bible was written in a period of time that spanned over thousands of years by kings, physicians, tax collectors, farmers, fisherman, singers, and shepherds. Yet, the marvel is that the Bible is cohesive, and it all points to the same person: Jesus Christ. Such a book could not have been written without divine intervention; the Bible proves the existence of God.
God’s existence can be shown in many other ways. The natural world screams of a creator. The complexity of a cell, the intricacy of our DNA, and the earth, stars, galaxies, and beyond are much too incredible to have been created merely by chance. There are thousands upon thousands of variables that would need to be perfectly balanced with each other if life were to occur with a big bang and through evolution. The theoretical probability was calculated by some scientists, and the probability was smaller than 1/googleplex, which is essentially zero. This proves that we could not have been created merely by chance; God most certainly exists.
As I conclude, I want to ask you a question: “Where are you going when you die? Heaven or Hell?” We all have the ability to make decisions in this life, and our decisions will determine the answer to this question. Will you acknowledge your sinful life, ask Jesus for forgiveness of your sins, and give your life to Him? Or, will you continue to live as you always have? Think about it.
