"Fairy Tales"

It's very early and I'm awake.  My heart and spirit feel heavy...it only takes a moment before I know why.  It all started with a simple question my friend recently asked others to comment on. "Is the Bible entirely true, relevant and the very words of God Himself?"  It's not the question that troubles me, quite the opposite.  It's the answers, one of which was "The Bible = Fairy tales." 

When questions like this are posed, I'm always struck by how quick people are to write the possibility of God off, or to blame God for all the things in life that are viewed as bad, yet remain so ready to deny He can even exist to begin with.  I totally respect that every individual has a right to form their own opinion, and they should. 

Yet in challenging something this significant, I often find that most have never even done any study or research, or really checked Christianity out, before casually discounting or even disrespecting it.  Instead of educating themselves and coming to their own conclusion so they can share legitimate reasons for their position, as Christians are expected to do, they choose instead to just adopt a common stance like "fairy tales."  Seems like a contradiction, doesn't it?  That's because it is. 

I was raised in an organized religion that taught me the foundational principals of what would later support my faith...much later.  Until that time came about, I was in full control of my life.  I did not truly believe in God and wanted to do it my way, and I did.  And it was not good. 

As I look back on all those years, something was always missing.  I felt this even while I was living them.  I could deny this to anyone else, but I knew that deep in my heart and soul, there was unquestionably a void, an emptiness, that nothing else could fill.  Nothing.  Trust me, I tried. 

So it is from considering this contrast that the heavy-heart for the dismissiveness of other's comes.  It comes because I am a life that has been completely changed by God.  The years I lived without Him took a devastating toll on me and my child.  I made really bad choices, in many different ways, all the while trying to find a way to fill the deep longing of my soul.  Food, substances, people, the power of self, therapy...I tried it all...and yet the void remained.  I was depressed, lonely, scared, hopeless...in the pit of despair.  And yet I kept running, looking for love in all the wrong places...I did not find it.

That was until I finally came to the end of myself, and in the most broken state of my life, accepted Christ, started attending a non-denominational Christian church, and began to learn who this God was and what He was all about..  That was over 15 years ago and my life's story has changed dramatically ever since.  I began my true life of faith as a very broken, hurting, worthless girl.  I could not imagine what this God would even want to do with me.  After all, I had denied Him for so long, and had made a ridiculous mess of my life.

But I met the ultimate physician...the healer...the expert.  The very One who had created me, and knew who He intended me to be.  The very One who immediately accepted me as I was, and set to work, lovingly, gently, healing my heart and washing away the dirty damage to reveal a new me, the real me, that had been buried with the painful remnants and scars of all those years of running.  And His loving work continues on me still.

It's interesting that the one who posed this question had a similar experience, and could tell a tale very similar to mine.  This childhood friend I've only recently reconnected with, and learned that he too, despite an upbringing in faith, ran the course of his life for years.  A life, he would say, that left a similar wake of destruction.  But he lives a blessed new life now; because he too has met the Healer, he too has given over the reigns.

There are many things about God that I don't understand.  There are things in the Bible that do not make sense to me.  I see things happen in my life and in the lives of others that break my heart, make me angry, and cause me to question why He would allow them.  And yet I believe. 

I believe for two main reasons.  The first and most significant is the Crucifixion.  When learning about what Christ endured on the way to the cross, and on the cross itself, one must really consider how it was possible for a mere human to endure what He did.  That how, even if as some believe, he was just some crazy man, He could physically endure such severe torture, and yet unwaveringly claim who He was, to the very moment of His death?  Why would anyone do that if what they claimed was not true?  He never wavered. 

The other is because despite these things I don't understand, there is absolutely no way to deny the work He has done in my life, and how He has now equipped me, through my healing and growth, to work in the lives of others.  There is no way to deny that power of the Holy Spirit that I literally feel moving in my life...the very gift we receive when we accept Christ.  And it is this gift that helps me understand the Bible, and allows me to feel the presence of God in my life, gives me peace and hope, despite the challenges and ugliness that life can bring.  There is nothing on earth that can ever compare, will ever compare...nothing.

So back to fairy tales and disbelief.  It's not for me to convince anyone of anything.  What is for me to do is lead a life of honesty, to demonstrate and share how undeniably much God has done in my life.  My prayer is that before people just write God off as fairy tales, brainwashing, or any other such thing, that they have done themselves the favor to really be sure before being so dismissive.  

What's at stake in the balance is significant.  I know firsthand there is much to gain in learning the truth, not only in this life, but most importantly in the life to come.