Two reasons: I care...and Jesus told me to.

You see, I believe the Bible. It is the most accurate and defendable religious document on earth. I won't go into all the details about how the earliest manuscripts of the Bible are closer to the actual events they describe than the manuscripts of any other religious document, how archeologists continue to confirm biblical claims, and how its message comes alive when I read it. But I will say that the Bible is quite clear that those who do not believe in Jesus as the way of salvation are in for a bad time...an eternally bad time.

I don't want anyone to be on the wrong side of that divide, and this may be your chance to make a decision that will change your eternal destination. But you have to decide.

You can't have it both ways. You can't say, "I believe in Jesus...I just don't believe He's the only way to God." Because Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6). So the dilemma for each of us is...is Jesus who He claims to be or is He a liar? After reading the Bible all the way through multiple times, and praying diligently about it, I confidently chose to believe Jesus and everything He said.

Why Jesus?

One day it occurred to me that if God was really as smart as everyone says He is, He'd know that I couldn't make myself perfect and thereby worthy to approach Him. So if He really wanted to have a relationship with me, He'd figure out a way to do the hard (perfecting) part Himself. If there was going to be a bridge between me and God, He'd have to build it...because I couldn't.

Christianity is the only faith where God builds the bridge.

After man's and woman's rejection of God's authority in the Garden of Eden, our relationship with Him was damaged. A great divide was created between God and us. That divide was sin. God still loved man and woman, but because of His perfect holiness He could not tolerate being in relationship with sin...and because of man's and woman's willful and self-centered lives they were (and we are) full of sin. So...if He was ever going to reestablish a relationship with men and women, someone would have to endure the punishment for that sin. That's when Jesus said, "I will."

He took our place, paid our penalty, absorbed our punishment so God's holy justice could be satisfied and we could be in perfect relationship with Him for eternity. That's how much God loves you and me. He built the bridge, because He knew we couldn't do it.

Will you receive that gift?

God the Father and Son have offered this gift to you and me, but we have to receive it for it to take effect in our lives. In the gospel of John 3:16-17 we're told, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Believe in Jesus and you get eternal life (heaven). Reject Him and you get eternal death (hell). Unfortunately, in other passages Jesus tells us that those who go to hell really don't die in the sense of ceasing to exist. They exist in eternal torment.

The important point here is that you have a choice. God is not making the choice for you.

Jesus is saying, "I'll pay the horrible price for your sins, but then you have to purposefully accept that sacrifice as my gift or it doesn't cover you." Sounds fair to me. I know that if I allowed my son to be executed in your place, I'd sure expect you to appreciate it and acknowledge it as 100% of the reason you were not executed yourself.

All it takes is a simple prayer. Just tell Jesus that you believe in Him and appreciate what He's done for you, that you are sorry for your sins that contributed to His burden on the cross, that you will (with His help) turn away from your sins, and that you will endeavor to live for Him until He brings you home to the reward He has prepared for you. Then read the gospel of John in your Bible. Just reading it will build up your faith. Next read the book of Acts to see how the Christian church started, and then read Romans to find out what "being saved" really means.

After that just start at Genesis and read the whole Bible. If you read just an hour a day you'll read it all in about three months. Only a half hour a day will get you through in six months. I recommend your trying to do that at least twice a year, because the Bible is so rich you'll see new and beautiful insights each time through. Your faith will continue to be built up as you feed on the word of God.

Finally ― pray. Talk to God just like you'd talk to a good and loving father. Even if your earthly father isn't that good or loving, God the Father is. He wants to hear from you...in plain spoken talk. And He'll respond in your spirit, through the words of the Bible, through the voice of His ministers in a good Bible-believing church, and maybe even through your own ears. You'll never know until you try.

If you believe something different

I respect your right to believe differently. I have no intention of "selling" you Christianity. Jesus told His followers to be His "witnesses." He didn't call us to be salespeople or prosecutors. A witness simply tells what they know to be true. That's all I intend to do here...tell you what I know to be true in my life. If it "witnesses" to you, that's wonderful. If not, I will have fulfilled my responsibility to Jesus and (in all sincerity) to you, and we will both find out who was right when we close our eyes for the last time.

I'd love to hear from you.