“But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn – not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” (John 1:12-13 NLT)
The fact that Jesus lived and died on earth is easily verifiable by non-Biblical sources, thus is irrefutable, but whether someone acknowledges Him as God in human flesh or Lord of Creation are other factors. Regardless of which direction our life is taking, while some of our traveling companions may be chosen for us, as we age, we must decide what we will believe and with whom we will “travel” on our life’s journey.
Often knowing where we’re going isn’t nearly as important as knowing with whom we’re traveling. Whether I’m by myself on a plane, bus, or train full of strangers, or traveling with my wife and pups in our car gives me a completely different frame of reference, in terms of the enjoyment of my trip. Of course, the destination comes to bear on my enjoyment as well. Traveling in and of itself isn’t as much of an issue as why, for what purpose.
If I’m traveling to a funeral or a birth; a wedding or to visit a friend or family member who is going through a divorce or other loss, my attitude as to whether I’m looking forward to the trip or if it is more obligatory also weighs in on things. How we feel about not only who we’re becoming, but our stage in life, in terms of our level of schooling, training and type of work we do, as well as our emotional, mental, and physical makeup can factor into our overall assessment of how we’re responding to the circumstances of our life and what path of faith we will travel. Some, of course, choose non-Christian options or no faith at all in any religion; however, make no mistake, every human being is a person of faith.
To the degree we believe the choices have been made for us or are the result of our independent decisions also comes to bear on whether we’re enjoying or regretting the journey we’re on. For example, if as a child or young adult you felt pressured to believe a certain way, whether it pertained to religious practices or not, that you’ve now come to reject, you’ll always have a shadow of doubt as to whether you made the right choice or were led in the right direction then or are now moving in the right direction.
This can be irrespective of your view of God, whether He exists and loves you or doesn’t exist may not even factor into the journey you’ve embarked upon. Maybe you wake and sleep dependent upon the schedule you have dictated and the thought of God intersecting your life never occurs to you. Blessing or chance are just words people use to explain things they don’t understand, but you’ve chosen to respond to reason and facts. So, how can you ignore the fact of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection?
But therein lies the problem. So many “facts” are arguably “faith” factors and whether you align on the side of Christian Faith, some other religious position, or strictly a secular viewpoint, how mankind arrived on the scene, why we are the way we are in terms of the intricacies of our body and bodily functions, the predictability of the weather and movement of the Sun and Moon, the exact tilt of the earth and speed of our rotation around the Sun must be explained by more than a “chance” occurrence. The evidence of Intelligent Design is irrefutable and must be considered by any thinking person.
The birth and formation of babies, love, laughter, sadness, grief, death, dying, and a thousand other things that all of us have in common cannot be explained by a “Big Bang” or chance. There’s too much order and precision to the way our body functions, the Universes are aligned and the design and construction of even our little planet to doubt very long that there isn’t a God who is behind all that is, especially us, as earth’s inhabitants.
Regardless of where you are on your journey. You may be a 20-something agnostic or an 80-something atheist, you must realize this life is not all there is. You’re going to die and whether you believe you’ll simply return to dust or stand before a holy God to give an account of your life, there are questions you cannot answer regardless of how smart you think you are or how well reasoned you may believe you have become. There is a God-shaped void in your life that cannot be filled by anything but God.
If you’d like to investigate faith in a non-threatening environment, please click on anewstory.com and let Ron Hutchcraft walk you through a brief explanation of what God through His only Son has done for you. Your journey is going to end sooner than you’ve imagined. What happens then is in your hands, but your decision must be made before your journey ends.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 