At the end of the day, we all have faith in something. Even an atheist has a kind of faith; faith in the absence of any god. The question is where do we place our faith? For me the answer is clear. I place my faith in God and salvation through his son Jesus.
I am not a minister, scholar or expert in much of anything. I have not spent my life searching and comparing religions of the world. I am, as my user name indicates, just a regular guy. So why am I a Christian?
Christianity is simple and simple makes sense to me. Accept Jesus, surrender my life to his plan and I’m saved. This is not to say that I am not without struggle, disappointment or failure in this life. Rather, it is to say that salvation is mine if I place my faith and trust in Jesus. No complicated rules. No eternal revolving door of reincarnation in the hope of eventually getting life right to find salvation.
By placing my faith in Jesus and living my life according to his plan I am assured that I am doing the right thing. So how do I know what his plan is? I pray. I pray and ask him to make his plan clear to me. Which brings me to a point that became crystal clear to me when our youngest was old enough to start asking for things.
Because I pray for something does not mean I am going to receive what I’m asking for. As a parent would not give a child something that would hurt them, God isn’t going to give me something that isn’t good for me no matter how many times I ask for it. I’ve never met a parent that has said yes to every request from thier children and I imagine God is no different.
God wants me to succeed in my salvation. The path to eternal life as a Christian is simple. Why would a loving God who loves his people make salvation complicated? Why would he make salvation available to only those of a certain social rank or birthright? The answer is a loving God would not. Through Jesus salvation is available to anyone at anytime.
Christianity is consistent and consistency is important when planning for eternity. The Bible is it. There are no supplemental documents, no appendix, no updated version to reflect a changing political landscape. Salvation is achieved today in the same way it was with Jesus walked the earth; by faith in him.
Being a Christian is the cornerstone of my life. It has changed my view on virtually every aspect of my life and I can’t imagine being without my faith. I fall short; make no mistake, but I fall short knowing that Jesus does not and with him I am enough.
