A few years ago, I watched “The Perfect Stranger,” a powerful movie based on the book, Dinner With a Perfect Stranger, written by David Gregory. The story follows a woman as she transitions from doubt to belief after encountering “the most unforgettable man she would ever meet.” After building a conversational relationship with him that both charms and challenges her, she learns he is none other than Jesus Christ, and the experience changes her hopeless, ruined life to one of joy, peace and purpose.
It made me think about the hurdle many people face when confronted with the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. How do you believe in and have a relationship with someone people say is alive but you cannot see? How do you know he is alive?
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines faith as “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” That’s Webster’s definition of faith, but Christians do not believe in something for which there is no proof. We have historical evidence and the testimony of many witnesses. Luke, a physician who set out to record “an orderly account” of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, reported that Jesus “gave many convincing proofs that he was alive” (Acts 1: 3, NIV), and Luke’s friend, Paul, the apostle, reported that Jesus appeared to more than 500 eyewitnesses at one time (I Corinthians 15:6).
Like the woman in the movie, we, too, can see Jesus. We see him in the countless men and women whose lives he has changed. But there's no substitute for a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. That's reason enough to believe.
Copyright © 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment