Believe and Know

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us." -- John 4:16

Polls taken across our country show that many claim to believe in God. Although, in a recent Pew Survey (June 2012) people 30 years of age and younger have more doubts about the existence of God than in past generations.

In my heart, I know there is a great difference between believing in God and KNOWING and BELIEVING in the love that God has for us...for each and every one of us. I know this because I have experienced this difference myself.

I have "believed" in God my whole life. I went to church as a child, youth group as a teen, and even though I was not a consistent church-goer in college and in my 20's, that belief in God was always in my mind and heart. But, it wasn't until the last few years that I have been drawn to a deeper, stronger relationship with God. Something has happened inside my heart AND my head that makes me not only believe in God, but to know and understand how much he loves us...us being all human beings.

A relationship with God sounds like a strange notion, doesn't it? It seems a little one-sided. God doesn't "speak" to me or participate in a conversation with me the same way my friends or family members do. But I do believe God does communicate with me in ways that both creates and sustains HOPE in my heart.

I wish I could explain to you in words that describe this process in my heart. All words I seem to use seem lacking. Just please understand that I don't believe that this is something that only I am capable of. If you open your heart and your mind to God's love...If you reach out and ask him to make himself known to you...If you look in the Bible, God's word to us, for verses that explain God's love for you...you will find it. How do I KNOW this is true and will happen for you? Because it happened for me!

Why are young people doubting God's existence more today than in the past? Those of us that have come before have stopped believing and knowing. We have become lost and disappointed in our world. We have not passed on our faith...we have not encouraged our children enough to search and find that belief and knowledge for themselves. We have become apathetic and have allowed our children to go searching on their own...

I hate to think of people young or old not knowing and believing in God's love for us. But, our God is a God of second, third, fourth choices. I don't believe it is ever too late. It can start with you! Find ways to believe and know God's love for you!