It is odd; how one can grow up in the church, faithfully
attending church and Bible study every week, yet at the age of 25, and still not completely
understand what I believe.
I said to one of the girls I was sitting with on the first
day of class in Basic Christian Beliefs, “I’m excited for this class, I feel
like I am not able to defend myself properly if a non-Christian, or a Christian
for that matter, would ask me a tricky question about my faith or what I
believe.” She replies, “What do you mean? It’s pretty simple, Jesus. You know
Jesus and the gospel.” “Well, it’s not really that simple, “ I answer. “Yes I
know Jesus, and about His life, but what if someone asks you a question like, why
do bad things happen to good people, or why did my friend die at age 10 in an
accident? Why would a loving God do such a thing? Or even a more theological
question.”
These are tricky questions to answer, and I want to know the
answers to them. Whether I get a specific answer or really just become more
familiar with what I am supposed to know, then I can better answer some of
these difficult questions. These are crucial topics that people will ask, and
as a Christian, one commanded to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew
28:16-20), we must be able to answer. How else can we fulfill such a commission?
This is an area I know I need more understanding in. Even
the other day, we were out playing pool, and a random man who claimed to be a
Christian started testing us on our beliefs in speaking in tongues. We would
answer and he would counteract with another scripture that states otherwise.
Granted he was being pompous about it, but I still felt ill equipped to debate
him. Not that I need to be able to debate people, but just in that moment, I
did not know the answer, and I was saddened by this.
Teach me!
