Why Jesus?

I've spent a lot of time thinking and speaking about why I choose Jesus. We are instructed to "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). So, I've really searched to find this reason, meditated on it and have come to some conclusions. The following are questions I've asked myself, and have asked other people in order to give the reason for my Hope...

I begin with one question: "Is there a god?" If I answer "No," then the spiritual game is over. If I answer "Yes," then the next question asked is, "Has this god revealed itself?" If I answer that the deity has not revealed itself, again - spiritual game over. However, if I answer that I believe a god has been revealed, the next question becomes, "Which god is the true god?"

Before moving on, I'll answer the first question by saying "Yes, I believe there is a god." The reason I believe there is a god is that there is far too much design in creation for me to reject the opposite conclusion. Even the second law of thermodynamics (the Law of Entropy) which states that, "order must always decrease," is contrary to the Theory of Evolution... As they say, "it takes far more faith to believe evolution than in the existence of a god."

My reasoning for believing in Intelligent Design? Take the example of a wrist-watch in pieces on the ground: if these parts were left for 1 million years, we know that there is no possible way that these parts would snap back together without someone putting their hand to the task. How much more design is there in all systems of the human body? And how could cells (even if they were grouped together) snap themselves into such order (even over billions of years)? How did a lung cell organize itself with a group of heart cells...what made the heart decide to grow four chambers...I could spend hours and hours on the observed order of the universe...

The second question asks "Is a god revealed?" In other words, has it spoken to us? I would answer by saying, "Yes, I believe a god has spoken - first through creation."

Now...do I believe that deity has spoken literally through both appearance and actual dialogue with humanity? Yes I do. Why? I believe this because of human nature. We have the understanding of "right and wrong." Something prods us to do right, and something compels us to do "wrong." I do not believe that we, through our own evolution, would have warring natures. Somewhere along the way, we have encountered someone else that gave our nature a jolt (a nature that lives for self - call it 'survival of the fittest' if you'd like). Without certainty, someone or thing has interjected with a higher reason (called "Love") that calls us outside of ourselves.

We also have guilt associated with "wrong," which leads me to believe that this is the form of living we should move away from (there is no guilt associated with doing, "right"). Ask yourself why guilt exists if we've evolved... Now, the next question of which god is the true deity is the greatest question, isn't it? Most people in life believe that there is "something out there." The answer to this question HAS to begin with another question: Is there truth? Our postmodern world would answer that we all have our own truth, but two things that oppose each other cannot be true by definition. I cannot call a car red and have someone else say they believe it to be blue (vice versa). The car has a definite colour (no smartalec stuff about colourblindness). So, for this reasoning, I believe that if god has been revealed, it can only be in THE one way it has accomplished the revelation. Two revelations of differing gods creating the world with differing purposes cannot both be true.

So which is it? Or, who is it? If there is a god, and it HAS been revealed, who is it? :) My answer is that I believe there is ONE god named Yaweh (God). He was, is, and is to come - has created the world according to His purpose and revealed Himself ultimately in the personhood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Now you ask: "Why did you choose Him?" It's actually an easy answer...

I have examined many religions in my lifetime, and have come to the same conclusion: religion in and of itself does not work. Religions are swimming instructions for drowning men, instructing us how to stay afloat, giving us rules to follow to keep ourselves from drowning...and every single one teaches us that if we don't reach a potential or standard, we are ultimately rejected by the god (or standard) of the particular religion. In religion, humankind is doomed...

Where I believe Christianity differs from religion is that, instead of throwing us rules to stay afloat, Jesus Christ offers a life preserver. It's a free gift offered to human beings who could never in an eternity swim long enough to gain any ground. That is why I choose Him. Christianity (outside of religion) makes sense. I've tried to stay afloat, swim hard so I can be acceptable...it just...doesn't....work.

I put my faith squarely in the Son of God, "who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:2). What is your hope? (Watch the "My King" video in the right column...)