My spiritual journey:
>I love being right. There was a time I felt like I was virtually always right. I held onto morals and thought I followed them better than most. I didn't need religion, or anyone else, to tell me what to do.
>I thought believing in God was a fairytale, something that people did without a logical, thought-out reason. A lot of people seemed to believe in God, so maybe God did exist, but even if he did, it didn't matter because he didn't seem to care, or bother to affect human affairs.
>Jesus on the other hand, was another kind of fiction. I remember my father telling me to pray for dinner, but I had no clue why. I always said it the same way: "Thank you Jesus for this food, amen." End of story. Let's eat!
>Through a canoe trip for gym class I became fast friends with Joseph, the new guy in class. I was suprised to learn he was a Christian. As God was a part of his life, God naturally became a regular topic of our discussions. Through many perceptions I felt that I had conquered our debates. I was right, and God didn't exist.
But Joseph was different. He broke a lot of preconceptions I had. He had specific responses to my questions. Upon his reference, I began reading the Bible and unexpectedly found it interesting.When he eventually invited me to church, another preconception was shattered when I saw people were happy, singing with joy; it wasn't somber.
>The first time I ever put on my prescription glasses, I looked up and didn't just see vague, blurred mountains and trees, but detailed masterpieces of glaciers and streams. Suddently there was so much more to see. It made me think: If I've been going all these years without glasses, not realizing the problem with my perception, perhaps my view of God had been wrong all this time too. Admitting that I was wrong was hard, after all, I was virtually always right.
I thought long and hard that night. I remembered Joseph asking if I would let God into my heart and let him be an active part of my life. I knew it was time to accept that Jesus came on earth and died to conquer my imperfection and my attempts at moral goodness. God began to transform me, and that change made it a tangible reality. Reading my Bible, Jesus became more than just a picture or a name.
>Living in relationship with God for me is like living beside a river (like I do in my home town). If you don't listen for its rushing waters, it won't be heard, because it seems to just drop into the background noise. But with God, when I remember to listen, it's awesome. Knowing he's there, I can talk with him and ask, and he always knows exactly what I need.
>The real application of faith in the classroom and in the lab is a matter of integrity. There is always the temptation of using lots of ways to cheat and get a better mark. Instead, I choose integrity, even in little things. Living faith is about continually living as Jesus would, according to his principles. If the faith wasn't there, then why not bend the rules, except for the fear of getting caught?
>Having a spiritual view often challenges a student to think, challenge, consider, and analyze prevalent ideas more, as they work to integrate it within their perspective. I've found that it's often the doubters and atheists known to be cutting-edge thinkers ironically aren't the ones being creative, nor are they considering all ideas. They are the ones willing to take the status quo which they take in with a faith more blind than any other.
>University is a place to learn and discover -- about everything, so learning about and discovering God should not be excluded from consideration. We humans don't have all of the answers nor do we have a complete understanding of how the planet and universe works, but God does. Even chemistry is a subject where the answers have changed, and are still changing. Scientists have often held wrong views about how things work. So how could anyone rule out God when even science can fail?
>Imagine - personally knowing and relating to the One who created it all, the One who created you. Infinite. Wonderful. Great. And he cares for you. He even knows you better than you know yourself. He's personal. Knowable. Loving. A perfect friend; who will never give up on you, encourage you when you are down, and who will always be at your side. It is possible.
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