2: Read This If You’re Confused About Faith
and around in endless circles. “ Yes it is. No it isn’t. Yes it is. No it isn’t. ” In an argument nobody has to move or shift their position. A map is different. In fact, “arguing” about a map is pointless. And that’s because you can pick up a map and actually test it and experience for yourself. Does it help you figure out where you are? Does it point out the path
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that leads you home? Does it point out the dangers, the sites of interest, and the twists and turns along the way? Christians didn’t make up this life-map, but we’re trying it and it’s worth follow- ing! This is not a private map. It’s for everybody. There’s room for healthy doubt sometimes. But there’s room for some
READ THIS IF YOU’RE CONFUSED About Faith, the Bible, Prayer, and All That
healthy faith as well. In any case, God doesn’t need us to prove or de- fend him. He can do that perfectly well for himself. God’s an expert at revealing himself. God can and does use Christians to witness to him, to testify and share with others where we’ve seen him in action in history and in our own lives.
In case you’re wondering, this survival guide doesn’t have a bunch of knock-down, drag-out arguments trying to prove that God exists. It’s not that we don’t believe that God exists. We do, with every fiber of our being. We’re not ashamed of that truth. In fact, we stake our lives on it. Give us a chance, and we might talk to you all day about what we’ve learned about who God is and how God loves. We’re bold but humble— confident —about it. Some Christians specialize in apologetics —laying out reasons why you’d be a fool not to believe in their arguments. Most of the time we appre- ciate their reasons; they can be helpful. But in the end, we don’t think arguments about God are enough. (Have you ever known anyone who’s been argued into believing in God?) The Christian message about the reality of the living God is less like an argument and more like a map to share. An argument just goes around
Why Jesus?
You might be asking yourself why there’s such a focus on Jesus and the Christian understanding of God in what’s supposed to be a “spiritual” survival guide. It’s a good question, and a fair one. The main reason is simply because we’re Christians. We’re followers of Jesus. We’re Jesus people. He’s our reason for being, our path, our Lord, our way, our truth, and our very life. We can’t think “spiritual” without immediately thinking about the Holy Spirit that Jesus sends to his followers.
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