Thoughtful Thursday: Why do we believe what we believe? (Part 1)

Why do we believe what we believe?

Can you answer that question?  Can your children answer that question?

I read an article a few years back and it said that one of the main reasons why children that grew up in church don’t stay in church is because they don’t know what they believe and why.

I made a profession of faith when I was 4.  I grew up in a preacher’s home, went to church 3 times a week until age 18, and I could not answer that question.  Ok, let me rephrase that.  I could not answer that for many things.  For instance, why should we dress modestly?   Why should we read our Bible?  Why should we abstain from drinking alcohol?  I knew that these were things that as Christians we should do or should not do, but I didn’t know why.  Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that it was not taught at all in our church, I just don’t believe that it was emphasized as much as it should have been, and/or perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention.  Yes, I went to church every time the doors were open.  Yes, my dad was a preacher.  However, I did not have a personal relationship with Christ.  I didn’t have a desire to learn for myself the why’s and why not’s.  This is the exact reason why it was so easy for me to fall out of church when I was out from under my parents’ authority.  Even sadder than this, is that several of the people that I grew up with fell out of church as well.  We might not all have the same reason, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we did. 

When I got back into church (different from the one I grew up in) as an adult, I had to learn to answer these questions finally.  It started with actually having a relationship with Christ.  Then, I took all of those things that I had been told to do and not do as a child and studied the Bible to learn the why’s and why not’s.  II Timothy 2:15 says “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

  It is so very important that we not only know this for ourselves, but that we teach our children also.  I do not want my children to go down the same, hard road that I did.  I want their beliefs and faith to be real for them NOW.  I want them to have a relationship with Christ NOW.  I want them to be able to answer why we believe what we believe NOW.