Journey to Truth
A lot of people have very little interest in spiritual things. They may have some passive view of religion, but it doesn't influence their daily life. It's more like a "good luck" charm to them. Others see religion as a foolish or even dangerous thing. Then, something happens. They suddenly have an inexplicable desire to learn more about Jesus, not just spirituality. They are drawn to Jesus. Another time, I can explain what this is about. The short answer is that God is drawing.
Maybe this is happening to you. You might be an atheist or an agnostic, but you find yourself drawn to church or to people people who love Jesus. I've had conversations with people at church who said things like, "I hate all of this, but I keep coming back. I don't know why." More often, I meet people who were feeling drawn to be around God's people. They couldn't explain it, but they felt at home. They asked questions and sensed God leading them in a journey to Truth.
Here are some things that I recommend doing while you are on that journey:
- Ask Jesus to reveal Himself. The truth is not afraid to be tested. If God is real, He can show himself to you. Ask God to show you the Truth, then pay attention.
- Get around people who love jesus and enjoy God's love. Jesus said that the way his disciples would be know is that they love one another (John 13:35). Find a church or group of people who love Jesus and love each other and just be around them. Experience Jesus' love in action. Jesus is there.
- Ask people who love Jesus to tell you their Jesus stories. They all have a story. Ask them how they came to trust Jesus. What convinced them? What changed in their life? Jesus says that God empowers believers to witness (Acts 1:8). You just might experience God as they tell their stories.
- Pay attention to how God is at work around you. One time, I talked to a woman about trusting Jesus. She started to think about the times when God had protected or guided her years before. When she thought about it, she could see how God had been working in her life for years to bring her to that moment of belief. Think about your life. Have you seen God's hand of direction in your life in years past?
- Feeling a strange draw to things about Jesus? That's God (Holy Spirit) drawing you. Follow Him. Chances are you remember when you started to think about God. He is drawing you to Himself. He's the one leading the way. Go with him.
- Experience God in nature and art. Colossians 1 says that jesus created everything. Take some time to enjoy nature, art, and music. Jesus is there.
- Read His Book. This may be the most important thing you can do. God gave us the Bible as a testament to who He is and what He has done. Start reading it. Some people start at the very beginning (Genesis). Others jump in when it starts talking about Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). I would start with John. You might think about buying a Bible in a version that is easy to read (I recommend NIV or ESV...the guy at the book store should know what that means). You can also download a free Bible app! YouVersion is what I use almost all the time.
If you are reading this post, there is a good chance God is drawing you. Ultimately, my hope is that you eventually Trust Jesus. Until then, I hope you experience His love in action.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
