What You Believe

By Jenna Quentin

York Minster

(http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1294563)

“So what do you believe?”

Have you been asked this question? Your mind might have gone back to a catechism, an apostle’s creed, what you’ve heard your parents say, or you might have gone completely blank.

Maybe nobody has ever asked you. Do they assume that because you go to this Catholic school that you are Catholic? Or that because your grandparents are Iranian that you are Muslim?

The pastor’s son doesn’t believe?

An intern at our church, Ryan, shared his testimony one Sunday. He said that as a pastor’s son, everyone believed that he was a Christian. Since he was “a good boy”, was in every service and had all the right answers, no one doubted.

Yet inside, Ryan was confused. He didn’t question there was a God, or that Jesus died to save him. It just didn’t make a difference in his heart or his life. His motives for doing good things were selfish or prideful. He was following his parents, willingly or not.

What makes the difference?

My background was very similar to Ryan’s; a good kid in a good Christian family. I was just going with the flow. However, I began reading my Bible, once again just because it was the “right” thing to do. The Truth and Power of God’s Word reached through to me. Slowly and softly, I began to believe for myself, not borrowing off my family’s faith.

The fatal question of what I believed came just months later, during a tenth-grade state math evaluation. Chatting with a guy over lunch, he challenged me, saying that the values my parents taught me were stupid. At that moment, I realized that I could either agree with him or take hold of my faith and claim it. Praise the Lord, He gave me strength to declare myself a believer.

Ryan’s story continues in much the same way. The God he pretended to follow finally touched his heart. Outwardly, his life didn’t change much, inside new hope and new life were growing. He became passionate, setting off to do mission work…something he’d never dreamed of before.

Decide for yourself

Don’t wait until someone asks. Search out behind “the way we have always done things” to the core of your faith. Ask. Pray. Decide today what you believe and why, not from family traditions, but from your heart.

Tags: believe, catholic, Christian, muslim, what do you believe