The Most Wonderful of the Terrible Days

There was once a time when there was no blemish upon the hearts of men, not even a hint of shame or weakness. Humans lived in perfection, not straying from the God that had created them, not seeking the ways of darkness. Yet then came a day, a day when a temptation arose before them, and in a moment of foolishness, they gave in. They lost their innocence, their perfection, and instead gained a lifetime of toiling against the world and its evil ways. They turned their back on God, choosing their own wisdom instead of His, and from that day forward, the race of men has fought against their own weaknesses. Days come and go, and the battle rages on, and each day, the humans fall, unable to stand. It is their weakness, their foolishness, their distrust in everything but themselves. It is their lust for the pleasures of today, and their apathy and ignorance concerning the truths of tomorrow. They run from true and perfect love, instead taking shelter in the arms of the world, the very arms that will crush and suffocate them, not letting them go.

For thousands of years, this battle has raged. There is not a man alive today that can boast of righteousness, for even the purest of human hearts cannot completely resist the allure of the shadows. God stands upon the edge of Heaven and peers down upon his creations, seeking those to welcome into His home, His kingdom, allowing them to live among Him for the endless ages to come. Yet His search has found no results, for there is no man worthy of it. The hearts of men have been filled with evil, and such an evil will never enter the kingdom of Heaven, for it is a place of wonder, undisturbed by the world and its ways.

Yet should all of humanity be separated from God? Should they all perish for what they have done? God knew the truth, that each of them deserved death, and judgment, and to be separated from Him. It was what they had deserved; it was what they had earned. They each owed a debt too great to pay; only an eternity away from Him and His kingdom would suffice as payment. It was the fate each man deserved.

Yet then there came something that could not be believed, for God sent a part of his own being down to the Earth, and God Himself walked among the men and talked with them, teaching and preaching and healing. He lived as a man, yet did not give in to the weaknesses of the flesh, instead living perfectly and flawlessly, without even a single defect. No other man had ever walked upon the Earth in such a way, unswayed by the darkness of the world. He did not come simply to live, for God had a greater and grander plan, for there came a day when this man, God Himself, was captured by men, beaten, bloodied, and humiliated, and finally, hung from a cross for all to see. There his death was witness by the very people He came to love, and yet by His death, by the shedding of His blood, the ultimate price was paid for those who believed. For God held such a true and deep and perfect love for His world, that He came down from Heaven and walked among us, for He did not desire for us to perish. He offered himself as a sacrifice, completely and ultimately paying all debts, and all we must do is choose to accept it. The gift is given freely to those who believe, those who allow God to forgive the things they themselves could never erase. It is love that brought God to make this sacrifice, and it is love that brings us to choose to accept that sacrifice.

Thank you, God. I cannot repay what I have received, and I know I am utterly and unquestionably unworthy. Yet I run to you, burying myself in your love, and there I will remain, eternally yours.

Logic

I've heard atheists say before that no rational person would believe in a God. They say theists believe in a higher power because they want to believe there is more to life than this Earth. They say that only the unwise would truly think there is a great being in the sky watching over us. They say Christians are illogical and unintelligent, for how else could they believe such foolishness? They call them delusional, senseless people.

I know I live in a world where some people look down on me for what I believe, but I don't really care. I don't believe what I believe because it makes me look a certain way to the world, nor do I believe it because it makes me feel a certain way. I don't believe it due to a desire for peace or contentment. While an atheist may read this and still think I'm delusional, I believe in a God due to something they believe Christians to be incapable of: logic. For even if I had not had "God moments" throughout my life, where God made his reality obvious to me, there would still be the underlying fact that I find the idea of this universe having no God to be completely illogical. It makes no sense.

The theory that this universe created itself is illogical. No matter how many millions and billions of years you go back, there has to be an ultimate origin. We could talk specifics of the Big Bang, evolution, and other scientific theories. Yet such things are mere details, for if this universe is merely physical, then it must have a beginning. If it has a beginning, there must have been a time when there was no universe. If there is no universe at all, there is no matter, there is nothing in existence to take its progression to the next step. It is illogical to think that the universe sprouted from nothingness into something. There must be something more, something higher, something eternal. I do not believe this because I want to or because I feel like it should be true, I believe it because logic forces me to do so.

I do not know all the details of how God created the universe. There are debates on the literal Genesis creation story and theistic evolution, and while such debates are interesting and of some value, the truth remains that, however the universe came to be, that it was God doing the creating and not merely the physical universe. If we evolved from single-celled organisms, then it was God that authored and guided that process, it did not simply happen of its own accord. Whether God created the universe in six days or gradually over billions of years, the end result is the same: the universe is God's creation.

In short, I believe what I believe because of logic, not despite logic. I know atheists will still call me foolish, but I will not change what I believe simply to fit in to the world.