Category: Core Beliefs

I like the words one nearby church uses to describe the Bible: “the very Word of God to man through men.” As God walked with believers through the ages, these believers told their stories of God’s impact on their lives, and we have their stories, written down and translated into our language, in our Bibles. However, God is still walking with believers, and God is still speaking to us and urging us to listen with our hearts and minds. So don’t be confused, my fellow faith walkers: God’s Word includes the words that God has given and is still giving to us now. When we read the Bible in the way God intends, we are opening ourselves to accept what God is saying uniquely to each one of us now. 

I believe God is pure love, the kind described by the Greek word agape, meaning an unconditional, selfless dedication to what is best for the one who is loved. This kind of love is not merely a feeling, but an intentional commitment. I believe that I am a recipient of God’s love, as are you. I believe this because when I have sensed God’s presence, I have sensed a love for me that urged me to be better and be more of who God sees that I can be. I have read and heard from many others about their experiences with God, and I hear the same descriptions of God’s love, so I am encouraged that what I have felt is not my wishful thinking but God’s care shown for me.

One of the fundamentals of my faith is that God is much bigger than any of us can imagine. By thinking of God as unimaginably huge, I discover a healthy humility about myself, a sense of the impermanence for our earthly journey, and a justification for an immense faith in God.

I believe in God because I have experienced God in my life. Full stop.

I’ve found encouragement for this simple answer about this foundation of my faith in the story of a blind man in John 9. When challenged by the religious leaders about Jesus, this man gave an irrefutable response: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”