A reason for this hope

Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky... and over all the creatures that move along in the ground. - Genesis 1:26

Most of us it seems, are creatures of habit. Routines help us feel safe, impenetrable even. But from time to time, the niggly questions lurking in the recesses of our heart do surface to assail us.

Questions of meaning and purpose.

Why are we here?
What are we here for?
Who are we really?

Where we have come from and where we are going? What would I be thinking in the moment where I shall have to draw my last breath - is this a life worth living?

Many turn to religion in hope of some answers. And perhaps the hardest question - and indeed the scariest are: Which god, Whose god, and Who is this God who is truly Lord over all?

What forms the substance of my faith? And how do I draw close to this God who sometimes seems so 'silent' and out of reach?

Christendom - and our religious tradition and bigotry, has in many ways been a bane to us. We approach the Scriptures with our own fixations and formulas. Inscribed in stone is our very own version of who we'd like God to be. We project our own image upon Him.

If this God is real, then a want a fair chance to get to know Him. Not on anyone else's terms, but on His terms. Perhaps the reason why I find it so hard to convince others of the sovereignty of He whom I call Lord and Saviour, is that I'm still not entirely sure what I can offer them, and how to persuade them into a different way of thinking.

Peter's words come to mind at this point: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15).

What gives me reason to hope?

I'm passionately desperate, to tell this Gospel Story for all it's worth. A story that doesn't smack of religious bigotry, politics, self-righteousness, my own knowledge of good and evil. I want to tell the Story that has the power to save.

I want to be thoroughly and irrevocably convinced. So dear God, do help me, and open up my eyes as you did for Saul on the road to Damascus. Amen.