Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:9 NIV
Why do I believe what I believe?
This became the reoccurring question in my mind after frequent conversations (often more like confrontations) with those who oppose my Christian beliefs. Initially these discussions made me uncomfortable and planted doubts about what I have believed for the majority of my life. My conversational colleagues accused me of being brainwashed by false colonial rhetoric that was historically used to keep people submissive. Questions rolling in my head after each discussion included: Have I been brainwashed all these years? How have I accepted something I can’t even argue about effectively? How have I believed without engaging in extensive research about it first?
What have you done with Jesus?
For those of us who grew up in church, attended Sunday School, youth groups and perhaps a Christian college, it can be easier to believe what we believe because we were taught by those we trusted to tell us the truth in those formative years. I have been in church since I was three years old thanks to the faith of my mom. Because of her choice to take me to church and Sunday school, I came to know about God and Jesus. She facilitated the means for seeds about God and Jesus to be sown in my life as she started me off the way I should go (Proverbs 22:6). She showed me The Path but ultimately it became my choice whether to take it or not.
Whenever one encounters the Gospel of Jesus Christ, what happens next is up to the individual. For what we do with Jesus, sets the tone and the trajectory of our beliefs. The opportunity to reflect through this post on what we have done with Jesus in our life will hopefully allow us to be enlightened about what we really believe and how we arrived there.
So what have you done with Jesus? How would you classify your relationship with Him? Are you just aware of who He is and what He came to do? Are you acquaintances due to having mutual friends? Do you see Him as an honorary family member because of your family’s adherence to Christian values? Is He that person that you only call on during challenging times? Or have you made Him the center of your life and the One in which all things revolve around?
More than an acquaintance
Jesus did not come to be an acquaintance who is dependent on others to keep a relationship going. He came to form a close bond with us individually which can only develop with consistent quality time together. Intimacy between two people does not occur over a day or two. Our most intimate relationships are created by sharing life with one another over extended periods of time. This is how trust is built, honest conversation flows and how strangers become dear friends who know each other on a deeper level.
This is the type of relationship we develop with Jesus when we choose to walk with Him. The tone of what we believe about Him shifts as He moves from being an acquaintance to a dear friend whom we learn to trust. As we come to enjoy spending time with Him through the word of God, prayer and moments of praise and worship, we also find ourselves on a new trajectory. Instead of simply acquiring knowledge about Jesus, we are now personally on the course of “tasting and seeing His goodness” that was never accessible by just knowing about Him.
The journey to personal beliefs
As I reflect on my spiritual journey, I see how my beliefs progressed from being rooted in my mother’s faith to becoming my own personal convictions about the person of Jesus Christ. After years of hearing about Jesus from others, I finally chose the path that allowed me to personally taste and see that the Lord is good and in return I experienced the joy of life in him. Believing what others said was replaced by a personal awareness that Jesus is who He says He is. The tone shifted from Jesus being a nice acquaintance I met through others to the dear friend who loves me like none other. The trajectory of my life went from just existing each day to living abundantly daily. My beliefs about Him and my need for Him were solidified in real tangible ways that made extensive research, a theological degree or human intellect unnecessary to convince me that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
So why do you believe what you believe? Is your belief directly affiliated with Jesus or indirectly through another? Are you able to articulate with others why you believe what you believe? Not some theological dissertation but a heartfelt expression that has come from tasting and seeing the goodness of God through your relationship with Jesus Christ. Take some time to consider why you believe what you believe.
I ended my most recent conversation with my colleague expressing thanks to him for helping me to consider why I believe what I believe. Why? Because I discovered in those uncomfortable moments, that my faith in Jesus Christ is real and personal. What the enemy sought to use to weaken me, God turned it around for my good and for the good of those who heard my testimony of who He is and what He desires to do even in their own life.
Considerations 