So you’re curious as to how the outdoor wedding went! There was pre-wedding tension of the meteorological kind. Dark clouds came closer and thunder grew louder. The question was whether the bridal party could get ready, the guests arrive, the wedding be conducted and the rice fall before the rain did. I knew I could give an abbreviated wedding ceremony if need be, but would I even get the chance? I stood in the backyard watching and waiting. The rain almost won the race but I cut out everything but the essentials and we finished just before the downpour so we could rush for cover. Somehow we managed to get the wedding party, the guests, and the wedding cake all squeezed into a two car garage for the reception.

In these letters we’ve done a great deal of thinking together about God and His Son Jesus Christ. I believe there comes a point where all of our thinking must lead to some decision making. I know we haven’t covered all the issues or answered all the questions, but we don’t have to know everything about something in order to make an educated choice.

The wedding in the rain reminded me of my own wedding to Diann that took place well over 25 years ago. We’ve learned a great deal about each other in the many years since our wedding day. There was a lot about Diann I didn’t know when we got married, but I’m certainly glad I married her based on what I did know. Making a commitment to someone in a relationship is always a step of faith.

Establishing a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ is a similar step of faith. We can’t know everything about God, but we can know enough to make a commitment to a relationship with Him. At some point we have to come to a threshold of decision. We either step over into a relationship with God or we don’t.

A relationship with God is like any other relationship in that it takes two to make it work. God pursues us with an invitation to be in a relationship with Him. But do we want such a relationship?

God has already taken the necessarily extreme measure of dealing with our sinful nature, which alienates us from Him, by having Jesus Christ die on the cross for us. God reaches out to us with an offer of forgiveness. Will we accept His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation? Will we let Him be our Savior? That’s one of the key questions.

Then, too, will we let Him make a real difference in our lives? A significant relationship in our lives always has a significant impact on our lives. If a relationship with God is to be the ultimate relationship, it must have the ultimate impact. Jesus, when He walked upon the earth, asked His disciples to follow Him. The invitation remains the same today. Are we willing to turn leadership of our lives over to Him, to be His person, to live for Him and not for self? Will we let Him be Lord? That’s the other key question.

This ultimate friendship with Jesus Christ involves these two elements of accepting His forgiveness and yielding to His leadership. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, what it means to be a Christian.

But what if you still have doubts? When someone is very important to us we sometimes have to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’ve tried to present the case for Christ as clearly as I can. I’m convinced there’s enough evidence for Christ being the Son of God, who can provide us complete forgiveness from sin, who deserves our total

allegiance and can meet our deepest needs. Faith has to exist in the face of doubts.

Ultimately, belief and unbelief find their source not so much in the mind as they do in the heart. It is, in final analysis, a decision of the heart. There’s enough evidence to prompt us to step across the threshold of faith in Christ, but not enough evidence to push us. We have to want to take the step.

A fellow seeker after truth,
Dave