Who I am

Who am I? I'm just some guy. I am nobody special. I haven't done anything or accomplished anything you'd know about or ever hear about. I'm just another person. I am a father, a son, a husband, a brother, an uncle & a nephew. I have a home, a family, & a job. But I am not a preacher, a pastor, a missionary, I don't work at the salvation army store. I've never saved anybody's life, not a fireman, policeman, soldier, paramedic, doctor, the only person who might think I'm a hero is my 2 year old. Although I know some real life heroes who voluntarily take jobs that could cost them their very lives to save you or me one day, I am actually just like the guy that lives on your street. So is there any reason anyone would choose me as a spokesperson for anything? I can't see it. So don't get the wrong idea about who's talking to you. It's just some guy, no different than you. Although that me be untrue, maybe you are a more important person than me, it's pretty possible.

Why am I here?

Really, that's everybody's question, isn't it? Not everybody stops to think about it all the time, but the fact is, everyone has a belief in something. That is, everybody deep down needs to feel that there is a reason we are here – why are we alive, why do we do the things we do? I don't think you could stay sane if you didn't think there was any reason at all for mankind to exist.

For me, I can definitely remember one of the major turning points in my life in answering that question. I was on an "overnight" (as we called them back then) camping trip with my Boy Scout troop. It was pretty late at night, I think most everybody had already gone to bed for the night. But my Scout Master & I were lying on our backs beside the campfire looking up through the trees at the constellations above us. I don't remember a lot of what we were discussing, but one thing he said made a permanent impression.

"Now, come on. Take a look around you. Look at everything you see here. Do you REALLY think this is all here just on accident?"

I was in awe. Literally. I didn't have any idea what to say. And actually, it is a pretty awe inspiring situation. I really recommend it for anyone, for whatever reason, any time you can get the chance, get yourself out to the woods (or a hillside, or the beach, the riverside, etc.), & yes moonlit starry nights are even better. Then just spend some time sitting still & taking in everything around you, forget about everything you have to do. It will change a lot of things for you. It did for me on that night.

So I sat there looking at the trees, the thin clouds, the stars millions of miles away, & started thinking about how it had been this perfect here for so many years, yet it seemed like it was all arranged for it to be this way tonight. I started realizing what he was talking about. How could I be here by accident? I mean, me, particularly, the person I knew I was, here, sitting among hundreds of blades of grass on one spec of a planet in the who knows how many in the universe floating around endless light years of stars? What about everyone in my family for several generations, everyone I know? & this perfect spot? What, some cells, (where did they come from anyway) just banged into each other, & here I am thinking about all this? I knew that wasn't possible. Everything, the stars, the trees, me, everything, had to be here on purpose.

Well that was pretty much the foundation of what has grown to be my personal belief, & a big step in my deciding to be a Christian. I will be telling you about just what I believe in a minute. But my encouragement for you is to make a decision to think about what you believe & why you do. Like I said, everyone knows at least in the back of their mind that we are here doing something, whether they have thought consciously about it very much or not. So I really urge you to think about it & learn all you can. It's extremely important to know who you are & why you are here if you want to have peace of mind. If you take nothing else away from here, please take a desire to learn your purpose.

So, if you know anything about Christians already, you might know someone who says they are a Christian, and have your own ideas about Jesus, the Christians, & what they think. Also maybe you just heard about Christians for the first time & came across this webpage wanting to know what it's all about. Well, here is what I can tell you. It doesn't mean going to a church. It doesn't mean you are Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Greek Orthodox, Episcopalian, Baptist, or any of the others you have heard about. It doesn't mean you can't be one of those, either. It doesn't mean your parents went to any church either. I know first hand, a lot of people in a lot of churches have said/done a lot of things to make people feel unwelcome, unwanted, or like they don't "belong", maybe like you wouldn't WANT to belong. But right now just completely forget about it. Those were only people, those things don't have anything to do with being a Christian.

So, being a Christian has nothing to do with any particular church. It isn't a set of rules to live by either, many people think it's about being 'moral', it is & it isn't, it's always nice to be moral, but that's not what being a Christian is about. It's not about if you follow any rule or rules you can get to Heaven (or not go to Hell.) You probably have heard or expected to hear any of those things, and I'm not saying none of those things matter, but none of them make you a Christian. So what does make you one?

Being a Christian means that I have a personal relationship with God. Yes I am saying that the same God who created everything that I found so awe inspiring on that starry night I consider to be my personal friend, the same way that we have friends at work, school, etc. Also he cares for me personally as a Father to a child, looking out for my wellbeing, caring about my heartaches, helping me to grow as a person. The development of that relationship, just like a marriage, raising a child, or nurturing a friendship, is in fact what we call being a Christian.

That may all be very confusing. First of all I skipped completely past how I decided that God even existed, I only said I knew there had to be a reason I'm here. I did that because I know that everyone has to be convinced of that themselves to get to all the rest, & I will happily share some links further on that will show you some of the things I found useful in learning about who God is. Second, assuming that I'm right about there being an all-powerful Creator of everything, what makes me think I can say he cares about someone like me every time my feelings are hurt, isn't he off somewhere just watching everything? That is the easiest question of all to answer because there's only one answer to it.

This is what I have learned that changed my life: Yes, I know for myself that there is a God who made everything that ever was or will be, & he is really more than the mind can imagine. But me, like I said I am just an average nobody. To be worse, I learned that every time I have chosen to do what I wanted or felt like when I knew not to, many times at the expense of others, even when I did this before I knew about God, God calls that "sin". God, being as awesome as he is, I can't even talk to him because of my sin, he won't listen. But, in fact, because he made me, and he did have a reason for me here all along just as I figured out, he really did care about me even before I knew he was there. So because he knew I was going to be in trouble he sent his son, Jesus, to pay for my sin. You see, like I said, he can't allow sin, it goes against what he made everything for, so there has to be a punishment. Just like if a child breaks a toy, he can't play with it anymore. Also, isn't the child's parent angry at them? So Jesus actually voluntarily allowed himself to be put to death by crucifixion as a way of taking my punishment for me. Later, because he perfectly satisfied God in paying for everyone's sins, he was even resurrected from death back to life as an example that in him we can have a brand new life as well. By accepting this once I heard about it, I got to have the relationship with God I was made for.

Did you notice, I said Jesus paid for EVERYONE's sins? Every person has done things they knew they shouldn't, and every one of us has the opportunity to have those things forgiven because of what Jesus did. Remember I said I knew everything has a purpose? I really believe there is a purpose that you are here today reading this. In fact, I would probably bet that someone somewhere is praying specifically for you. For you to learn about this & have a new chance just like I did. All you have to do is ask God. I did it. You only need to tell him that you are sorry for having done things that hurt him, that you understand that Jesus took your punishment for you, & that you believe him when he says if you accept that those things are true, you can have a new life with him that will last forever & that he will be as close as your father and your closest friend. You don't have to kneel, close your eyes, talk out loud, any of those things, just say it & mean it in your heart however you can & he will hear and understand. The words don't matter that much, but if you would like help here are some you can use.

If this page has helped you in any way, please don't be afraid to e-mail me. If you just asked God about those things, congratulations! You may call yourself a Christian, that means you have God for your closest friend. You can talk to him any time about anything. And because he made everything that ever was, & because his son suffered & died to pay for you sins, there's nothing that he can't understand. I want to suggest that you find another person who is also a Christian, you may already know a friend or family member, and talk to them about wanting to learn how to keep being closer with God. Or you can e-mail me if you aren't sure who to talk to. Heck, you're on the internet right now, you could click here & find some things that may help you. Anyway, I am so grateful for you taking the time of sharing these experiences with me, and may God bless you!