To continue in atheism, I would need to believe…

Make no mistake about it, the atheist needs every bit as much, if not more, faith than the theist. I can state this no more clearly than by quoting journalist and former atheist Lee Strobel who tweeted "To continue in atheism, I would need to believe that nothing produces everything, non-life produces life, randomness produces fine-tuning, chaos produces information, unconsciousness produces consciousness and non-reason produces reason." He wrote "I simply didn't have that much faith.”

But it’s not enough, it’s not enough to know that He is up there and I’m down here and never the twain shall meet. What was needed was a rescue mission. In particular I needed me to be rescued from me, you to be rescued from me, me to be rescued from you and the whole world to be rescued from it’s self-centred, hell-bent path of destruction. And that’s what Christmas is all about. As Paul puts it “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save (rescue) sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). And the Judeo-Christian God has not left Himself without a witness as to the truth, reality and the effectiveness of this rescue mission.

Unfortunately, it can be said of a great deal of Christianity in the West, that it has “a form of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). This was me for the first 20 plus years of my Christian walk. Like many others, though I had glimpses of freedom, I relied largely on my own strength to live the Christian life. And this made me no different from anyone else trying to be good! However, through a major crisis I had come to the end of myself, to a place of desperation, a place where if God did not come into my life in a powerful way I would not have survived. And I see so much of Christianity on the wrong side of this turning point, and having experiences so much more, it breaks my heart as I believe it breaks His!

Father, though I would never have chosen to go through the trials, difficulties and temptations that brought me to my breaking point, I have come to the place where I can actually thank You for them. For if I never had problems I would not know that You could solve them. And Lord You have shown me that there is always so much more. Help me Lord more and more to tap into Your incredible love, joy, peace and intimacy so that I may show the way to this wicked and hurting World. In Jesus Name Amen