People have developed all kinds of theories, philosophies and beliefs to live by. Some folks believe in luck, their horoscope, or karma. Others, like myself, believe in the only wise God.

    I’m a Believer

I wasn’t always this gun hoe about my faith. I was raised in the Catholic Church, received the sacraments of baptism, confession, communion and confirmation. Yet, these acts did not precede because of my faith. Instead, they were motivated by obedience. I did what was naturally expected from a young Catholic girl. It never occurred to me to rebel, question or negate my family’s faith.

But, at the age of thirteen, after my father’s suicide, I questioned the religious beliefs I’d been taught. 

If this religion was true, then why had my father purposely ended his life. He’d been the most devout religious man I knew and yet, it seemed his religion could not save him. And if a religion cannot save us, then what good is the religion? 

Years later, when I pondered taking my own life, as my dad had must have pondered taking his, I had an experience that changed my mind and my life. Jesus appeared to me in a way that I recognized as the character Jesus, from the movie Jesus Christ Super Star. This character, whom I believed to be Jesus, spoke about his ability to help me. I needed help getting over a personal hurdle. I’d come to a dead end and had thought that the only way out of the pain that accompanied my dead end was to end my life.

Instead, this person said, “You could choose life. Grab hold of this rope and I’ll help you over the wall.” I did not move to grab hold of the rope because just as suddenly as the vision appeared, it disappeared. But it was enough of an encounter for me to believe.

And what exactly did I believe after that experience that I did not believe before that experience?

First of all, I came to believe that Jesus was alive and well. Before that, sitting in church though my formative years, I’d stared at the icon of Jesus hanging on a cross, dead. After my vision though, I was amazed and surprised that Jesus was actually alive, active and well.

Secondly, I’d envisioned God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as hanging out in heaven together, having loads of eternal fun oblivious to those of us under heaven living in dire straits. But after my personal encounter with Jesus, I was awakened to the fact that the Divine Trio, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are very active in the lives of those of us who actually believe they are interested in us. 

Finally, the first thing I was motivated to do as a result of my encounter with Jesus was to go out and buy a Bible. I’d heard the Bible read in church before, but it never caused me to pause and say, “Wow! Listen to that!” No, hearing a priest drone on and on as he read a lengthy passage from the Bible bored me because I didn’t see that it had any connection to my life. Now though, after quite a few decades of reading the Bible, I am excited, energized and propelled to live in a way that might cause others to consider believing too. 

Why bother to believe? Those who are already believers know what it is like to live a life in concert with God. Those who haven’t yet bothered to believe are in for some wonderful surprises when you finally do believe.