Introducing Christianity
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Be moved from this place to that place,’ and it will be moved. And nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20
Hope and faith are two very broad words that evoke feelings of peace and strength in the face of great sorrows and troubles within this world. Personally, I find my sense of self and sense of calm in Jesus Christ, who I believe is the single savior of all who trust in His name and in His promises.
If you are not a religious person or strongly kick against the structured grain of religion and its practices, I can understand that these words just sound like broad sentences that don’t mean anything when push comes to shove. Perhaps you believe in another god, one that is plural, one that is within the self, or some mixture of these elements. Whatever your personal beliefs, I know the truth of this life and what I have found to answer the majority of big questions I have always had as a kid through my teenage years and now into my twenties.
This post is not meant to offend you about any other religious system or practice that you believe in - not even a little bit. What I am hoping to achieve through posting this piece is to introduce Christianity in a light that is truthful and bright rather than the stereotypes that have been drawn onto the faith and onto its believers.
I believe in God and in his son, Jesus. I believe that our world is fallen and broken. I believe that people are sinful in nature and are in need of a redeemer who is spotless; Jesus lived the perfect life that we never can, suffered and died on the cross in our place, and rose again on the third day after his death fully alive and breathing, breaking down the frameworks of all logic and lived to share the news about God and in His masterful plan to sacrifice His one and only son for us, for all who will cast their sins on Jesus and repent of them in order to ultimately gain in having eternal life.
Our world is dark and full of hate, envy, and malice towards one another. We can see it in a variety of places, whether that be through racial injustice, gender inequality, and so on. One question that I have always had and I know others have too is this - Why would God create a world and know that humans would ultimately fall (when the first people Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) and leave them in this state? What sort of good God could do that to people He claims He has love for? Sometimes these questions and others still creep into my own mind.
Although I am a believer, doubts are part of being a human being. Even as a Christian, we are imperfect people. Yet, the answer I have found to this question, among others, is that God gave man free will as a way of finding His elect people - reaching as many as possible and saving them because they have found Him themselves, not just because He forced them to. Christianity and believing in its promises is a choice we make that is led by the powers of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) are one. These powers reach deep into our souls and work in us to love one another, to humble ourselves, to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and to be guided through faith throughout our lives in which we have put to death our past selves in favor of the new, breathing and living with Christ until the final day.
Jesus is waiting with open arms for you, reader. I hope that He finds you exactly where you are and that you will be drawn to Him, through prayer, through learning about the Word, and loving the people around you like you love yourself. If you are searching for answers and were looking for a clear cut sign, this is it.
“I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.” - Isaiah 43:2
