Facing Doubt

There are moments in my life when I am confronted with troubling thoughts like, “Is the Christian faith just the reach of desperate people for hope for an unknown future? Is it just another way of coping with life’s cruel tricks?” I don’t think it is a bad thing that we look for ways to make it through the mess, but there are those who think Christianity is a crutch for the weak. Like many on the journey, I have prayed many prayers that remain unanswered. I have lived through those dark times when I felt alone and hopeless. I have wondered if there is something wrong with me, some exception to the rule of the normal. But through it all I am confronted with the reality of the person of Jesus Christ.
Whether you believe in Him or not, He lived and the world is confronted with the claims He made about Himself. For a man to claim to be God is on the edge of reality. If God is like most men I know, I’m not sure He can be trusted. Most of the disappointments in my life have come from people. But just maybe that is a clue to the answer we are all searching for. The Jesus Christ story helps me make sense of it all. Separated from a Holy God by the darkness of evil, trying to live life with the spiritual lights off, we hurt each other as we try to survive the journey. Surely the journey is not just about survival, there must be some greater meaning to life than just making it. Someone said, “religion is man’s reach for God.” What a strange thing that men in their darkness would ever expect to find God. It is difficult to find anything in darkness. One can dream and hope, but light makes it so much easer. I can find no greater explanation of the Jesus event than Light in the darkness. The way He was treated by most of his neighbors reveals their journey in the darkness. Evil always hides in the dark corners of the human heart, ready to pounce in unexpected moments, cutting, slashing, bruising, separating lonely men. The Cross event not only revealed the Love of God but it revealed the darkness in men. Why would you want to get rid of Goodness? Why would you try to destroy the One who had power over your greatest enemy--death? You would think He would be welcomed with open arms.
I think we must be more like the Gadarenes who were exposed by Jesus. On His way to their town, Jesus encountered one of their own who was living alone. He was crazy, and they all knew it. Someone to be avoided, too far gone for anyone to help. So they just adjusted and learned to accept the work of darkness living on the edge of town. Jesus encountered the man and delivered him from his miserable life. You would think they would have all rejoiced over a life brought out of the darkness into the light, but not so, they were more comfortable with the works of darkness than with the giver of life. They asked Jesus to leave. They didn’t want him in their town. It is sad to say, but that is where much of our world is today--more comfortable with the works of darkness than with the Living Christ. People can watch the works of darkness on TV and feel comfortable, but when confronted with the reality of a Living God and the manifestations of His presence they want to run.
Now back to the top of the page and my troubling thoughts. What I have learned to do is hit them with the Truth. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life.” That is his claim about Himself and I believe it. So I join my heart with the millions who believe He is the Son of the Living God. Don’t take my word, but if you are smart you will investigate it for yourself. It is an issue too important to ignore.