Saturday, February 20, 2016

Why Do I Believe?

They say kids are so very impressionable.

Now that I'm 30+ years old, I affirm this with much more confidence compared to 2 years ago, or 5 years ago, or even more than 15 years ago. Year after year, as I get older, the more I come to terms of how much of "me" I am is a result of what has influenced me growing up.

I was around fourteen years old when I first read about atheists, and how their lives are less easier than theists', because of the fact that they have no higher being to run to. Twelve years later (congrats, you did the math!), I am still considering that statement, and ran into this article, Without No God Where do Atheists Turn In Times of Crisis?

I have no plan of addressing the article head-to-head. Call me a coward, but my unwillingness is honestly due to my unpreparedness to argue on a topic as fundamental as this. I'm simply jumping off the article because I myself once made a long list of theories/questions for myself (meaning: private), on "Why Do I Believe (in God)?", which went something like this:
Why do you believe?
Do you believe simply because you were taught to believe?
Because you grew up believing, as a result of your parents telling you to believe?
Because you were brought to church every Sunday, and when you went there, everyone just simply appeared to believe?
And as you grew older, everyone you met — from your schoolmates and your neighbors to your officemates and acquaintances — they all believed?
The questions spilled out briskly, like a thread spool unraveling, and my fingers managed to drum over 500 words in far too short a period. And reading the atheist article now just made me wonder -- how far along have I gone in my own belief? While I may not be ready to properly respond to that article, have I at least gone far enough to respond to the very questions I myself wrote three years ago? 

Armed with faith, I daresay, here's where I am now:

Yes, I do believe that I believe firstly because I was taught to believe.

But believing, I've come to understand, is not simply declaring His existence, but actually having a relationship with Him. So just to be clear, let that now be my definition of "believing".

That said, why do I believe? Because I am indeed surrounded by awe-inspiring personal accounts and testimonies. Because I've indeed watched and heard and read so many stories, there’s no reason left for me NOT to believe.

Furthermore, I've not only watched in TV or YouTube or heard testimonies during service. I believe because I've come to personally know many people who were truly changed, on account of their belief. People who never in their wildest dreams thought they could even change. And the change -- it came in different ways.

Some were sudden, some seemed to drag on for years. Some were eager and resolved to change when God touched them, some met Christ unexpectedly. Regardless of personal readiness or duration, the changes always shook their worlds, for the better. (Yes, for the better. But it was never painless, because God never said a life of following Him would be without struggles!)

I believe because life is more beautiful when you believe. (Such a losing argument for non-believers, I know!) Life is teeming with goodness! I experience nature, consciousness, art, music, beauty, love! There are mysteries, miracles, un-explainable occurences. There is darkess, yet there is light. There is pain, yet there is joy. There is suffering, yet there is peace. We can be lost, but we can be found.

What are these but His purposeful creations? Or are these really just particles in collision? Major accidents and grand coincidences in the movement of matter that just so happen to happen minute-by-minute, all over the world?

Going back to the impressionable 14-year-old in me, I am not afraid to admit that yes, one of the reasons I also believe is because I really don't know what to do if don't. I don't know where else I'd turn to, what kind of hope I would cling to, if I never revived my relationship with God.

I am amazed how atheists how can rely 100% on human control and capacity. I don't know. Maybe I don't know enough of them to understand better. Still, my personal experience determines my own belief, and reaching a point of hopelessness in my life led me to my own belief. And when there were no immediate answers that can be found anywhere, He was able to quiet the storms in my head. He kept me at peace, and remained my strength and refuge. He sustained me.

And because He first loved us, who else can compel us to love others with as much fervor? Who else (or what other thing) can energize us enough to live a life that serves, cares for, and forgives even those who hurt us? Finally, I believe because His character is one without comparison, a perfect model for us to to try to follow. 

Who else will teach us to carry a positive, grateful attitude amidst life's tests and challenges, and encourage us to look far beyond the current pain? Who else will teach us not to retaliate towards our aggressors, and to instead treat them with gentleness and respect? Who else will teach us discipline and righteousness? Who else will teach us to love unconditionally, and how it is to really make a sacrifice? We can never fully emulate Him, but while we're here, His ways are the best ways to live a good life.

I know none of what I said would provide proof or tangible evidence of God, nor did I give any logical argument for his existence. That was not my objective, anyway. This is simply me rebutting against my younger self, and if I were the judge, I'd say I've made some progress. I guess I can also say, to put it all simply, I believe because I choose to believe.

2 Corinthians 5 : 16-17 (NIV)
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

*****

What a breakthrough it is to write this! Am so grateful for the service at CCF Commonwealth this morning, led by Ptr. Tom Roxas. The message was about God's Compelling Love, and I believe God touched my heart to start and to "persevere" completing this blog post, which I've long wanted to put together.

Ptr. Tom also said it was "Global Missions Sunday", therefore the church had two guests, which was a such an eye-opener. The guests were Vin and Sean, missionaries from Vietnam and Malaysia, respectively. They shared about how Christians were being prosecuted in their countries, and they requested for our prayers for more workers, unity of churches in their country, changes in their governments, and for all prosecuted believers. Our hearts and prayers go out to them.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Reflection on Salvation

I've been reading up on the topic of Salvation since December, and found how it's one of the main contrasts between Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity, (or referred to in an umbrella term as "Protestantism" when I was growing up).

The difference is stark, as summarized by several websites. But in my humble understanding, the Catholic belief is that "good works" AND faith are required in order to be saved, whereas Protestantism teaches us that we are made right with God apart from our works. Meaning, because of our faith (alone) in God's grace, our honest-to-goodness relationship with Him will inevitably yield good works, and we will be saved.

So that's that. It wasn't really anything new to my ears. Furthermore, the Internet articles are secondary resources in my opinion, so I decided to set aside the argument until I can get some facts straight from actual scripture. (Because I got college-research-paper-citation-training-like-that).

Not long after, I came across this verse, Philippians 2:12-13 NASB:
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
The key words being "work OUT" your salvation, and not "work FOR" your salvation. Which points to how we have really already been saved, and how salvation is not something to be worked FOR :)

It also emphasizes how God is continually at work within us. He knows the desires of our hearts. All we need is the discipline and to do our part, so that His work will be completed in us.

I especially found it interesting how, even in the NIV and HCSB bible versions, the translation of "work out" is retained and never paraphrased. In NLT, it is translated into "work HARD"...but never ever working FOR.

***

Couldn't I start with a less-controversial topic?

Fortunately (or unfortunately), this was the reflection that stuck with me far enough to reach my Blogspot dashboard, so it must be important to carry the blogging out, for my own well-being more than anything.

I guess you can say this is me diving in.