Faith has become a controversial topic in a world of seekers today. Many are curious to know what’s out there, and are hungry for the truth. But how we do know what is the truth? How do we know if there is no God, one God or many gods? Where do you turn in an overwhelming sea of religions?

For me, the answer is always Jesus. He is not a religion or a doctrine; He is, by fact, a man who laid his life down to save us – every single human being on earth – from death.  Sent by His Father, God, Jesus is a man who loves us more than we could ever possibly imagine, and wants a personal relationship with us (John 3:16). He is the way, the truth and the life, and not one person can have a personal relationship with God without him (John 14:6). That is the simple Gospel.

To help others understand my reasons for believing, I have listed a few below.

1. Facts
   – There is no scientific proof of how the earth was created, but here are some scientific facts:
   • Infinity is subjective – The famous mathematician, Georg Cantor, proved around 1900 that there are multiple sizes of infinity. Multiple sizes means multiple answers, which means controversial answers to infinity. This means that the universe could not be eternal because infinity is subjective, but past events are not subjective, so they cannot be infinite. Therefore, the universe’s existence has to have a beginning.
   • Einstein’s equation of general relativity – To be honest, this fact is one I had to turn over in my head several times before I understood, so I am going to try to explain in simple terms. Basically Albert Einstein’s equation of general relativity is a “mathematical description of how space is curved by mass” (Arny, Thomas; Schneider, Stephen. Explorations: Introduction to Astronomy [Page 121]. McGraw-Hill Education. Kindle Edition.) Inside this equation lies “the cosmological constant”, which tells us the rate of the universe’s expansion. “If the cosmological constant were not precisely adjusted to at least one part in 10⁵³… of what physicists consider its natural range of values, the universe would either expand too rapidly for stars and planets to form, or catastrophically collapse back in on itself. In either case, no life would exist” (Robin Collins, Does God Exist?, p. 9). Call us lucky if you like, but this would be one heck of a coincidence if there was no God!
   • Probability suggests a mindful and intelligent creator – According to apologist Kirk Durston, who studies computational biophysics, the probability of natural sources in space being able to generate 138 bits of functional information (a number that our minds process quite easily on a daily basis), is 1 in 10⁴². He describes this as being “Roughly the same chance as marking two grains of sand, hiding them both in two different places on planet earth, and then having a blind person finding both grains on his first two picks” (Durston, Does God Exist?, p. 17). This means that it is highly unlikely that the information in our genes came from a natural source, and extremely likely that it came from an intelligent mind.
   • The existence of Jesus, the Nazarene – in history textbooks everywhere, you will find a section specifically on Jesus and his existence. He walked the earth and offered teachings that encouraged peace, love and wisdom. The crazy thing about him is that some believed him to be perfect, to be God’s son, and to have been raised from the dead by his father in heaven. And if he really was raised from the dead, then this proves the existence of the Biblical God. Here are a few facts about his death and resurrection:
     1. On the Sunday after His death on the cross, Jesus’ tomb was empty
     2. Historical writings have proven that different people saw Jesus alive on separate occasions after his death

• The disciples strongly believed in Jesus’ resurrection even though they had strong reasons not to (there were no Jewish writings that said the Messiah would be crucified as a criminal) and, they believed this so intensely that many of them died in order to share this belief with others.

Given these facts, the evidence is strong that Jesus was raised from the dead by God’s power, then there is strong evidence that God himself exists.

2. Purpose

• William Lane Craig (who has his doctorate in philosophy and theology) lists three reasons how knowing God’s existence “makes a tremendous difference for man” and one of those reasons is: “If God does not exist, life is ultimately meaningless” (2). Sure, we can make a difference in others’ lives, maybe become a famous politician and be recorded in history, but then the earth will eventually die, and we will ultimately be forgotten forever, and therefore who you are or the actions you take make no difference no matter what you do.
• Another reason Dr. Craig writes about is that there is no hope without the existence of God. There is no hope for the evils that take place in the world, “there is no hope of deliverance from aging, disease and death” (3), and there is no hope for healing.
• However, there is hope, healing and meaning in God’s existence, and that is Dr. Craig’s third reason. “Think of it! That the infinite God should love you and want you to be His personal friend. This would be the highest status a human being could enjoy!” (3)
• God gives us a purpose in worshipping and loving Him, and ultimately having an intimate relationship with him – fulfilling this purpose is honestly so rewarding because it is what we were created for!
• Morals – C.S.Lewis, an Oxford scholar and author wrote: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how did I get this idea of just or unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing the universe with when I called it unjust?” If there is no God, where do we get our moral principles from? Who tells us what is right or wrong – ourselves or our culture? But if it were up to individuals or culture to define these morals, then “this would mean that torturing babies for fun, rape and child abuse are not really objectively wrong and are only a matter of opinion…[but] our deepest intuitions inform us that these actions are horribly wrong” (Michael Horner, Does God Exist, p. 21). Apologists everywhere will tell you that the moral law has to come from somewhere. The argument is that since objective moral principles and obligations exist, God has to exist because they can’t exist without Him.
• Michael Horner also points that if God does not exist, then we have no value. We would simply be made up of atoms and matter “like everything else in the universe” (p. 22). This means that we would not be able to say that we are “objectively valuable”. But with God, we have value, we have purpose and fulfilling that purpose is the most amazing experience because that’s what we were made for!
• Patterns suggest purpose – There have been some patterns of discovery of the earth and humanity that suggest it was meant to be discovered. “For instance, the atmosphere that complex life needs is also an atmosphere that is transparent to the most scientifically useful light. The most habitable region of the galaxy, and the most habitable time in cosmic history, are also the best place and time, overall, for doing astronomy and cosmology… What does this mean? It means that the evidence of science itself” points to a purpose of being discovered (Gonzalez and Richards, p. 13). What I think is also fascinating is that some of those who were discoverers of this science – Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton and Maxwell – possessed the Christian faith and strongly believed that “nature displays fingerprints of its Creator” (p. 14).

3. Personal Encounters

• When you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, and meditate on who He is (and I mean like you get to know who He really is – not what the world defines Him as), you begin to experience Him in a way like no other
• Honestly, I share Christ with others (and by sharing, I don’t mean forcing Him on others, I mean simply sharing my beliefs with those who are curious) because once you truly experience Him for yourself, there is no going back
• God has so many different attributes and once you get to experience Him in so many different ways, you are in awe of Him
• I have experienced firsthand His unending love, his incredible power, his faithfulness and justice, and most of all His heart for His people! God has rescued me, set me free from bondage I didn’t even realize I was in! Jesus died to make this a reality for each and every person who chooses to accept this truth.

The Choice

So it’s your choice. Facts have been presented, morality has been questioned, and people all over the world (not just me) have had personal encounters with our Creator, our Lord. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that God is standing with open arms, a hand extended towards all of his creation.

I realize that even if you accept the truth that God exists, it creates new questions to be answered: if there is an all-powerful creator, how could He allow such suffering in the world? Why would He let my loved ones die? How do I live as a Christ-follower when I know that perfection is unachievable? And these are good questions to ask, ones we all ask ourselves from time to time when we need a reminder of how little we are in comparison to the universe and the God who created it, how we are not and never will be in control of the certain happenings in our lives.

I’m not claiming I know all the answers, but there is always more to talk about when discussing these topics, and digging deeper has definitely helped me face these questions head on. We might not have control over certain happenings in our lives; however, we do have control over the choices we make.  

You might think: I’m a pretty good person, so even if there is a God, he’s smiling down on me right now because I make good choices. But the truth is, God calls His people into a relationship with him. If you do not have that, you will never be fully satisfied, you will run until you hit a wall, until you’ve exhausted all your options except choosing Jesus. Questions are good – they keep you seeking, they keep you actively pursuing the faith – but don’t stay questioning forever – God has amazing things in store, so why not start a relationship with him now?

It won’t be easy and you may want to quit and walk away several times, but God loves you so much and you can trust him to bring all things together for the good of his people in the end (Romans 8:28). I encourage you to seek and pursue a relationship with our Lord and Savior. Know that, wherever you are coming from, no matter what crime you have commit, or how perfect you might think you are, God loves you and he wants you. His desire for you is never-ending, all-consuming and insanely intense. Honestly, it makes me so excited and giddy inside when I think about it!

How to say Yes!

If you choose yes to a relationship with Jesus, I am so incredibly glad to have you as a sister/brother in Christ! To accept Jesus as your Savior, you can say a simple prayer asking Him to be Lord of your life. Here’s what my prayer looked liked (it doesn’t have to be exactly like mine though): Lord, I thank you for creating me along with the universe. Thank you for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for me so that I can live. Help me to live my life for you as I surrender everything in my life to you. Please forgive me for anything I’ve done that has not been pleasing to you, and please take first place in my life.

I am so thrilled to be on this faith journey with you! I encourage you to find other believers, seek out a church and engage deeply in God’s word, the Bible, in order to grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus. I’d absolutely love to know if you chose “yes” (whether you chose it now or in the past), so feel free to comment or contact me through social media to do so! I am insanely excited for you!

Photo credits: Miriam Staal