When I first embarked on this journey, I had several looming questions that had seriously kept me away from Christ in the past – I feel obligated to honesty at this point and to disclose that I had been “lukewarm.” I was raised to believe in God, but the idea really stopped there – we didn’t attend church (for very long) although I remember saying evening prayers with my father until I was eighteen. I didn’t really consider what it meant to claim to be a follower of Christ. It’s occurred to me after months of reading, and realizing the sheer discipline it takes to follow Christ, that many of my skeptical questions I once held onto have slyly been answered through my reading of the Bible, my journaling and study, and my experiences in church.
Barrier #1: If God is love, why is there so much death/pain/sickness/etc.?
Now that I’m a “believer” this question seems silly to me – the short answer is that we caused it. Yes, we humans, who like to take matters into our own hands, who like to disobey and control our lives, cause the things we blame on God. It seems incredibly easy to blame our wrongdoings on God – “People are starving and God won’t help!” Actually, we won’t help. We won’t solve the problem of inadequate food distribution. “I know someone who suffered and God didn’t help them!” I have yet to stumble upon the verse that reassures us that our Christian walk will be like a stroll in a flower-filled meadow. In fact, Jesus teaches us the opposite – we are to give up everything and endure everything in our pursuit of Him. And besides, Jesus, the one who was handed over for the forgiveness of our sins, suffered greatly. He was mocked, beaten, spit on, and finally died – all for us. I really long for the faith enough to say that I would gladly suffer in my pursuit of Christ.
Barrier #2: Science, science, science!
Frankly I’m tired of hearing this shallow argument against God – we forget that if we believe in God, then we believe that he created everything in this world, including the marvelous scientific breakthroughs that have advanced our world and civilization. So, for those of us who believe he created everything, he also created Science. This really makes perfectly logical sense to me now – granted I’m not a scientist, but if you look around for 5 minutes, if you bask in the sun’s warmth, smell the spring flowers, or take in just how blessed we all are, you realize that science and God can walk hand in hand. You see that despite scientific conjecture, life is too miraculous and amazing to be a simple accident.
Barrier #3: I have no proof!
I am as type-A, controlling and logical as they come so I admittedly struggled (and still do) with this one. Correct: we have no proof that God exists. We also have no proof that God does not exist. If we had proof of God’s existence, there’d be no reason for faith. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the word faith is mentioned many times in the New Testament – I’m guessing it’s because faith is so paramount to our relationship with Christ. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) If you keep reading in Hebrews you get a nice digestible set of examples of faith. Having solid proof would make the journey null – faith is hard. It’s difficult to hand ourselves over to a God we cannot prove exists – our hopes, our fears, our every thought. And that’s the point! I’ve come to really appreciate this concept lately: the idea that we must rewire our worldly thoughts and inclinations to follow Christ, the path less chosen, and it is by faith that I feel up to the task.
Barrier #4: I’m not really a “church” person.
The first answer to this is simple: there are so many “flavors” of church, chances are you can find one that suits you. But beware, church is a far greater social experiment that you can imagine. In fact, I would venture to say that there’s no greater place to be tested in your Christian faith than at church. Between committees, disagreements, opinions, personal conflicts, budget issues (the list goes on…) we are tested to stay true to the second most important command: love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Church can be difficult enough when you simply attend, but when you work in church (as my husband does) you begin to see the “back door” of church. It’s not always a pretty sight. But really none of this matters – the difference of opinion, the discussions about budgets – what really matters is that we’re called to be in community with one another and we’re called to praise God. That’s really what church is all about – it’s the perfect setting for us to love one another, to praise and worship God, and to have accountability and fellows in Christ who can support and encourage us.
Barrier #5: It’s hard!
Agreed – it is extremely hard. I asked my husband the other day why people wouldn’t want to be Christian, and he replied that it requires accountability. He’s right – Jesus didn’t tell us to read the Bible after our to-do list is done, or to help those in need only when it’s convenient, or to be a good person only on Sundays. He requires obedience all the time. He requires it when you’re brushing your teeth, when you’re stuck in traffic, when you’re sitting in church. I’m not sure, though, why people shirk from this – don’t we want to be better than ourselves? Isn’t life meaningless if there’s no greater purpose guiding us, God’s purpose? Aren’t we just robots if we aren’t expected to grow out of ourselves? The answer is yes – following Christ is hard for a reason. It’s hard because we’re human. Luckily for us we can lean on God when the path is difficult – we have reassurance that we’ll have support during the journey.
Barrier #6: I don’t see God in my life.
My father used to tell me that sometimes the best reaction is no reaction, that when you’re unsure what to do that you should be still and wait. I hated hearing that. I like to act, I like to move forward, I like to progress. But I’ve learned that God doesn’t adhere to my timeline. In fact, I’m almost convinced that he could care less about it. It doesn’t matter how badly I want something, if it’s not in God’s timing, I can scream and wail all I want, and it won’t make a difference. This is another beauty of a relationship with God: he slows us down and makes us wait for Him. I’ve observed a few Christians that I admire and I think, “Wow – God is really working in their life.” And then I look at mine – and because things aren’t going how I want them to go or how I think they should, I assume that God is absent. This is such a short-sighted way to live – not only expecting God to always come to me, but also in not trusting His timing, His purpose, His will. And so, while I’m waiting patiently for His will to be revealed, I am comforted again by Hebrews: “Come near to God and He will come near to you.”
Barrier #7: My prayers aren’t always answered!
Yes, another test in patience. You pray once, you expect a response. You pray ten times, you definitely expect a response. But sometimes God’s answer is no or no answer at all, and often times, we don’t like it. I have personal experience with praying continuously for something, and then having no resolution. I’ve gotten angry, sad, bitter – and then I remember that faith is about trusting God. Faith is about remembering that God is looking out for me and has my best interest at heart. God’s resolution and plan for me is far greater than anything I can imagine. And so, putting my faith into God and trusting Him, I will try my hardest to be patient.
Barrier #8: I believe in God, but I don’t want to annoy someone by sharing my faith.
As someone who has been ransacked with “witnessing” in the past, this is the barrier with which I am most struggling. I really don’t want to come across as being intolerant, or judging others, or least of all, be unprepared when asked difficult questions. I have trouble enough explaining why I believe in God, let alone why someone else should believe in God. So while I don’t have an answer for this one yet, I continue to pray for the courage to share my faith with others and the grace to have the right words when the time comes. And once I’ve shared that moment with someone, I pray that I’ll have the discipline to be an example of a follower of Christ, for actions speak greater than words.
I admit that I’ve spent a bit of time worrying about these, simply because they creep into my mind every day. I know that they are all part of the journey I’ve chosen to be on, and for that I thank God for wanting to have a relationship with me, for wanting to hear my rants and raves, for caring enough to send his Son so that we may all be on this journey together.
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