Why do you believe in Jesus?

In theory this question should come up with people that don't share our faith or are not yet able to believe. 

"Well, why do you believe what you believe?"

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"Why do you believe in God?"

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"Why do you believe in Jesus?"

1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15 says this, "Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it."

So this was the situation I found myself in the other day: I was catching up with a teenager that I knew through youth group but hadn't seen in a year due to life and various circumstances. I missed her and God had put it on my heart to see her again.

As we caught up on all of the life details, she began talking about the same topic that we left on the year previously: her faith.

See this girl is so special. A year ago when I asked the youth group honestly where they were at in their faith, she raised her hand to say that she wasn't sure what she believed or if she believed but she was there at youth group to figure it out. That has been my favorite answer to that question to this day! 

So she said that again. She wasn't what she believed or if she believed and she wasn't sure if it was okay to go to youth group or church if she didn't really believe yet. 

Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes, I assured her that in every way that she should go to youth group again to discover her faith and her beliefs. 

We were heading home and I don't think she asked it as much as it was hanging between the two of us: why I believe. 

I hadn't been asked that for a while but I still had my response ready, and it's the same response that the man in John chapter 9, who was born, blind told the Pharisees after Jesus put mud over his eyes and healed his sight.

The Pharisees had called this man in for the second time to explain what he thinks of Jesus and how it is that he can see.

To the first, the man replied, "He must be a prophet."

And to the second, after the Pharisees claimed that Jesus couldn't have healed him because Jesus was a sinner (false), the man said, "I don't know whether he is a sinner. But I know this: I was blind and now I can see!" 

That once blind man ended up defending Jesus until he was thrown out of the synagogue.

So when the time came for me to answer the lingering question of why I believe what I believe, my response is the same: I was blind and now I see, I was broken and now I am healed, I was lost and now I am found. 

I told her about how too was unsure about my beliefs during the first three years that I went to youth group. It wasn't until the end of my 8th grade year when I felt God's presence (hello Holy Spirit!) and His love wash over me like a waterfall that I was able to confess: I believe and this Jesus thing is real. 

As I was reading John 9 this morning and came across the story of the man born blind that Jesus healed, I realized his claim to faith was the same one I share, and it's the same reason I hear countless believers relay. 

"I don't know about that other stuff, but this I know: I was blind and now I can see."

After I dropped her off at home and was driving away, I had a thought that I have not yet shared with her: that it's okay to believe and not understand. I think it's rare that when asked why you believe on God, someone would say, because I completely understand and can make sense of everything the Bible says about Him. Our understanding is always going to be limited compared to the unlimited, infinite God that we serve. God can grant understanding to a certain extent but what I think God is seeking in us, beyond understanding, is a relationship with Him. 

So if you haven't thought about your why for your beliefs, ask yourself that question and freely share that with people in your life. It shouldn't be a question that people have to scare out of you with a pointed finger and a stern look--they are your beliefs, so own them. 

Prayer: Lord, may our trust and foundation be so completely in You that when questions are raised, our only answer is You and what You've done to care for Your flock. It's in Your lives that we commit our lives. To Your name be all  glory and honor and praise. Amen.