What brings people to faith?
That seems to be a question of immense proportions. It seems that everyone comes to faith in a different way.
I was not a big fan of going to church or of “churchy” people when growing up. Thank God my mom made me go to Mass about every week, at least till I was old enough to move out on my own. Then I would be one of those “once or twice a year” Christians: the kind that go at Easter and/or Christmas.
Twenty years later, here I am defending the faith, dressing up to go to Mass, and occasionally standing outside of the abortion mill praying for an end to the merciless killing of innocent babies.
How did all this happen?
My main reason was that I could see all that God had been doing in my life and the realization that there is a God.
Not all people are fortunate enough to come to that realization, and they need “real proof”.
I was also on that precarious slope….which God to believe in; what church to go to; what things should I be doing or not doing; what bible to read….the questions were endless, and I knew that I had a lot of work ahead of me. Not all of us can be theologians; I know I don’t have the time or the smarts for that. So, can you really find out what to believe?
Here’s a kind of formulation that I went by to come a more faithful and informed Christian. Not everything came quickly or easily, but you have to never give up.
What happens to us when we die IS the most important question that everyone should
try to find the answer to. Your eternity depends on it!
This is only a formulation for evidence of the Judeo-Christian God of the bible (my God);
1) Where did belief in God come from?
2) Where did the bible come from?
3) How did the bible get in the form it is in now?
4) Why should I trust the bible? Is the bible accurate in it’s information?
5) Can I interpret the bible by myself?
6) Should I go to a certain church? What church should I put my trust in?
7) Are my church’s doctrines in line with Jesus’s teachings?
8) Am I going to believe all the church’s doctrines or go to a church that has the
same beliefs as I want them to have?
9) Should I even go to a church at all?
Above all, start with prayer!! Prayer and fasting is good, but you definitely must pray about everything in your journey. Pray, go to worship, learn, pray, listen, ask God specific questions….you may be surprised at the answers you get if you have an open mind.
I actually started back unto the road to faith through Protestant/evangelical preachers.
I finally went to church (Catholic) with my mom, just to spend some time with her, and with a little prompting from God and a whole lot of specific questions answered each week during Mass, I found the one true Church that Christ established upon the earth.
I didn’t buy into all Catholic doctrines at once, but by a long process of learning and
being open in mind and prayer about the questionable teachings. I didn’t just give up whenever something sounded wrong and leave the Church. I found out WHERE the belief came from and why I should believe it.
Don’t give up on God. Don’t give up on faith. Learn all you can even if you have little time. We only have a little bit of time on this earth, and most people don’t know the most important thing to find out.
God Bless
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Third Sunday of Advent - The second week of John the Baptist, he has some
advice for us to practice as we wait for the Lord's coming."
