My Mountaintop Battle with Doubt

It has been many years since that wonderful weekend I spent with my Dad which forever changed my life for the better. I remain so grateful to him for overcoming what he described as his weakness and having the courage to share his faith with me. No doubt, the Holy Spirit had His hands on us and opened our hearts and minds to what Dad needed to share with me and what I needed to learn from him. Until that weekend, I knew Dad was pretty solid in his faith, but I admit I really didn’t know why. Nor had I ever asked him to explain it to me. He said he had wanted to talk with me about it for many years, but just didn’t know how. He says the Holy Spirit led him to study the Word like he had never done before so he could explain it to his children before his time on earth was up. And not to explain it in a way that was ‘preachy’, but to show his thought process was logical and based on fact and historical teaching. His description of his journey is similar to my own and, I suspect, to many. I respect him for refusing to be a skeptic or cynic without putting in the work to determine just what he believed and why and then sharing it with me. Thanks Dad. I love you. The Purpose of Life What an amazing thing Jesus did for us. He solved the age-old question- ‘what is the purpose of life?’ The purpose of life is to love God and to love our fellow man. It’s that simple. Loving God means that we have an abiding relationship with Him so that we are closely connected to and live in partnership with Him. Loving our fellow man means that we influence others by how we love, how we care, how we forgive and how we conduct our lives- all to the glory of God. While we can have earthly pursuits of knowledge, comforts and success, our relationship with God must be our highest priority. Our abiding relationship with God only serves to enhance the quality of our lives. It gives us His peace that transcends all understanding as it keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. In His sacrificial and gracious act of dying for the forgiveness of our sins, Jesus set the “pattern of true love, the basis of all love relationships- when you love someone dearly, you are willing to give freely, to the point of self-sacrifice.” Jesus, in His life, death and resurrection, met all the demands of the law; now God is free to share the fullness of His grace with those who trust Christ…We are saved by His grace, but also live by His grace and depend on God’s grace in all that we do.” The world is dark due to the presence of Satan and sin; however, Jesus is the light of man. His life gives light to the world so we can see truth and the path to righteousness. Those who live in darkness without Jesus don’t understand Him and the incredible joy brought by life in Him. Jesus gave us light so those who believe in Him and follow Him are saved from sin. His light shows us the way to be right with God and leads us to eternal life. The light and love of Jesus have opened my eyes to the glory of God. Jesus has led me to understand how much I need Him as I struggle in the darkness of sin without Him. The light He shines shows us the amazing grace of God the Father who, despite our sinful natures, made us right with Him by Jesus’ sacrifice. When we follow Jesus, the true light of the world, we can avoid walking blindly and falling into sin. Jesus keeps our personal paths well-lit so we can see the best course of life He has laid out for us. He exposes the pitfalls and traps that are lurking behind every corner. Our task is to keep our eyes open by abiding in Him and allowing His light to keep shining in our life. The basis for our faith in God is His grace and mercy through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It can’t be earned as it is a gift from God to all who believe. God loves us. We are His creation and He does not want to condemn us. He also knows we are susceptible to sin and promises us forgiveness. But we aren’t on our own in this spiritual battle. He provides the Holy Spirit as our constant guide, counselor and confidant. Accepting Jesus into our lives isn’t about assuming an uptight, buttoned up life. Real acceptance of Jesus is about adding a beautiful layer to life that provides freedom through love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the Fruits of the Spirit. Fruits of the Spirit come with the knowledge that we are forgiven of our sins, have eternal life with God and are given the strength of God through the Holy Spirit as our guide, counselor and spiritual protector. We can live with the Fruits of the Spirit or the alternative of distrust, anger, anxiety, greed and disappointment associated with an over-reliance on worldly and selfish pursuits. Accepting Christ doesn’t mean we are immune from those things, because we are still in the world and they are all around us. It is our faith, a gift from God, that provides a layer of protection from these forces. Life gives us two choices- to love God or to love the world. To do the latter is temporary, but the former, to do the will of God, lasts an eternity. Rest assured, living a Christ-centered life is not dull or boring. Quite to the contrary, it has filled my life with direction, purpose, great people and joy.