I was asked to write a faith paper from a woman in my church for the religious course she's starting up in our local high school. She wanted me to answer these two questions. So I went ahead and did so. Then I thought to post this on my blog, so that you as my readers can have a better understanding of 'why I believe what I believe.' (Hence the headline. lol) Let me know you thoughts! Enjoy! :)
How Do I Know That God
Exists?
Why Do I Believe in
Him?
My name is Lisa
Friesen. Many of you probably know me already. I was at one point in time
public schooled. But if you do not know me, you have most likely seen me in
either the Drugstore or the Co-op food store, seeing as how those are two of
the jobs that I work at. I have been asked to share my faith by answering these
questions, by the lovely Mrs. Jo-Anne Pepneck herself. And I have decided to go
ahead and oblige her, and in a way, oblige myself as well. My goal is not to
bore you by this paper (though some of you may become bored anyway), but to
simply share my faith by answering these questions, in the hopes that you will
see the why and the how.
How do I know that
God exists: First off, it is really hard to answer these questions! I don’t
know why it is so hard, but it is. The people, who believe in the various
religions can probably without blinking, explain why they believe what they
believe. But I find that with Christianity it is not so easy. One of the things
that lets me know that he exists, is that it is a proven scientific fact, that
Jesus did walk this earth, some couple thousand years ago. Another thing that
lets me know that he exists is the evidence of life. I do not believe in
evolution at all, I have talked to people who do, my own dear uncle does…and
since I’m not sitting in this classroom, I will be totally blunt. I cannot
grasp the fact that people actually think that this world came to be with a
bang. I challenge you to walk up to a tree, look at the detailing of the bark.
Look at a sawed off branch and inspect the rings of the tree, the life that
flows through it. A ‘big bang’ cannot do that. I promise you. Walk up to a
flower, and see the delicate detailing of the petals in which the centre is a
filled with pollen for the bees of the air. The circle of life cannot be
created through a ‘big bang’. This world, planet, galaxy, was created by an
artist! An artist, greater than I. Whom I have come to deeply love, respect,
and fear. A mere ‘big bang’ couldn’t have done this. This ‘big bang’, isn’t a
being of any kind. Therefore, it doesn’t have the mental capacity to create
life. To conjure up detail, to think about what a planet needs to allow living
organisms, (including ourselves as humans) to survive. God exists. Not a god,
but the God exists.
Why do I believe
in God: Hope, saving grace…these are some of the words that come to mind. I
needed something to hope in, something/someone to cling to. Also, saving
grace…I needed, wanted, saving grace. I won’t dive into my life story, but I
will share this: I had a bit of a rough life growing up. I became withdrawn and
lonely. I became angry and guarded. My life was in shambles. I know I’m only
17, but a lot can happen in 17 years. Let’s just leave it at that. It came to
the point in my life, where I was either going to end it…or I was going to seek
help. It was one day that I was contemplating these thoughts, that I heard a
voice-It was in my head (obviously). It was small, and I could faintly hear it.
So I paused, and hearing nothing, continued contemplating a certain action I
was planning on doing. That was when I heard it again, and this time it was
more clear. This is what I heard, ‘Stop…stop Lisa. I can help you. Take my
hand.’ That was it. That was what made me crumble. It took 11 years of being
angry, it took 11 years of pain and torment. I went to my preacher, and he and
his wife counseled me, and showed me the love of God, and told me who he was.
And it was there on January 4th of 2010, that I came to the
realization that I was chosen, and so I followed him in obedience, because I
couldn’t refuse him. I couldn’t resist my savior. He has breathed life into me,
and I know I reside eternally with him. I am not afraid of death. And I
anxiously await the arrival of my Abba-Father, beloved friend and bridegroom. I
am a sinner. We all are. But I no longer want to sin. I no longer believe the
futile lie, that this world can fulfill us. I fall to sin, when I don’t look to
God for strength. I fall to sin, because it’s natural, and wrong. But I no
longer want to sin. That is the difference, and this is where the hope comes
in. I will always struggle in this life. I will always fall to the sins of this
world. But it is because of his saving grace…it is because of his blood shed
for me…that I know that one day…I will no longer fall to sin ever again. I will
no longer suffer…That is why, I believe in God.
