Why do you believe what you believe about the nature and character of God? Why do you believe what you do about hell? Why do you believe what you do about who you are? Why do you believe what you do about end times? Do your answers to those questions disturb you? Are you living your own relationship with God or someone else’s? What we believe about these things affects how we view every event and person we encounter in life. What we believe colors our future and provides hope or dread. What we believe provides a lens for our past resulting in regret or peace. What we believe affects how we pray, worship, think, and speak. Do you really want to place that much influence in the hands of anyone else? If you are depending on a person or persons for what you believe, I am sure you trust them. We trust others because of their trustworthiness and character, but consider this. What if your source is sincere, caring, experienced, and wrong? That is possible, so before staking our lives on their beliefs, maybe we should check things out for ourselves. I can hear the response, “But they are professionally trained, and I am not.” That may be true, but they could be more committed to their “professional” training than to what God is saying. You are responsible for your beliefs and you have a teacher who lives in you to guide you into all truth. You have a Father who wants you to know and walk in the truth. You have a big Brother who shares all He is and has with you. Re-thinking everything in His presence is wise for all of us. Doing it now is wise, because beliefs should be evolving as we grow. If your theology has fossilized, take it with you into the life-giving presence of God to be revitalized.
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