I have said many times that I call myself a believer instead of a Christian. People like to label us and put us in a box. I have simplified it for my own life.
I am a believer in Jesus Christ.
That's it. I am not a part of any church, denomination or organization.
I know there are some of you who might not like that. That's okay. There are some beliefs or things you have which I don't agree with either.
I have been a believer all of my life and nothing will change for me in 2022. I still believe and I will continue to believe. I'm not going to try to debate you or "witness" to you to force you to believe. I can't make you do it.
It's funny how people look for reasons NOT to believe rather than looking for reasons TO believe. Many people need scientific evidence to believe. I would like to be able to do that for you, but the truth is that I can't answer all of your questions with scientific proof. Belief involves faith - even if you don't see any proof and that's very hard for some people to do.
So how do people believe in something?
#1 - Scientific Evidence - Some need a formula or actual physical proof about the existence of God. Everything they see has a reason for existence. They put all knowledge in the mind of man.
#2 - They were taught -All of us were taught something about God or taught something else. Our opinions and beliefs are formed at an early age. Those beliefs continue to evolve as we grow older and is molded by our own life experiences.
#3 - What others say - Sadly we believe too much in what we hear, read or see from the sources available to us today. With the media slanting the "facts" and opinions on social media, we too easily believe these sources as being facts.
#4 - Faith - Some simply have faith. Where the scientific evidence ends that's where faith begins.
What does God say about believing?
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths."
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen."
Do you need evidence to believe?
Obviously evidence helps but it can't account for everything. Some things will never be known. We can't possibly know everything about everything - especially God. I have been a believer all of my life and I can't always explain everything. It's not about knowledge but a belief in God who knows all and is all. We aren't God no matter how smart we become.
Believing in God also doesn't mean you have to be weird either. I have known those people. People who post Bible verses on every Facebook post or talk in the King James Version language. God doesn't want you to be a weirdo. He just wants to love us. That's it. It's not as complicated as religions want you to think it is. God wants us to love him and love others. That's really hard for a lot of people today. God also isn't asking you to preach or do anything weird. More than anything, God needs good people with integrity. We have a serious shortage of those in the world.
So what does it take for people to believe?
Some have been convinced by a "Damascus Road" experience where God showed up in a physical way to change someone's life. In reality this is a very low probability to happen. Many times a life changing experience causes people to believe - it can also do the opposite and drive people even further away so it's a delicate balance of what happens to us which can drive us toward believing in God.
Believing in God is also not an "insurance policy" to keep you out of hell. That's the argument some will give you about being a believer to believe just in case they are wrong about what they believe. That's not a healthy way to believe.
The bottom line is that you will either believe or you won't. My words here won't convince you. I wouldn't be able to debate you into believing nor would I want to. You need to believe because you feel it and because you want to. I'm going to continue to believe whether people around me do or don't. It's not going to change my mind. I will be respectful of others and what they believe. You will never see a story where Jesus forced anyone to believe in Him. All He did was love people.
