SHORT READS
Why Do You Believe?
How one question brought me closer to my faith.
“When you reach the season you’ve been praying for, you will realize why you had to go through the fire to get there.” — Morgan Richard Olivier
Seven years ago, a special person asked me an important question. What I didn’t know then was that that one question set me on an entirely new path.
I used to attend church every Sunday, and my faith was a big part of my life. Now, I don’t attend church at all, yet I am closer to my faith than ever before.
Let me explain by asking you a question.
Why do you believe in God?
When I first heard this question, I answered with, —
I believe in God because my family believes in God.
My friend replied,
I didn’t ask about your family. I asked, why do you believe in God?
I immediately frowned, and replied,
I believe in God because it’s who I am. It’s everything I know.
Truthfully, the questions frustrated me. As frustrated as I was, I didn’t know how to answer. Now, I can honestly say that I didn’t know the answer because I didn’t know why I believed.
It took years for me to conclude that I believed because I never knew anything else. It was a default option and admittedly, I never questioned my faith because I was surrounded by people who encouraged my beliefs.
I didn’t question my faith because I was a blind follower.
That conversation with my friend stayed with me and in the beginning, it tormented me. From that moment on, I began to ask lots of questions.
Questions like:
Do I truly implement the teachings of my faith in my life?
Am I an ignorant follower?
Do I truly understand why I believe?
What purpose does faith serve in my life?
This period in my life was comparable to rebuilding an old house. I had to break everything down piece by piece and start anew by creating a solid foundation.
In short, these questions helped me understand and define myself as an individual. It helped me understand that many of us do things blindly.
We blindly follow, believe, and live life on an extremely linear path.
Those questions didn’t just help me understand my faith, they helped me discover myself in the process.
Questioning everything helped me become more forgiving, understanding, and kind. But most importantly it helped me become self-aware. That awareness unlocked a new way of living and in more ways than one, it set me free.
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