I was always a good kid. I obeyed my parents. I went to church. I played sports in school and went to Boys State. I read my Bible, introduced my friends to Christ and did my best to follow him in every area of my life.

I believed.

Then I went to college. While there, I asked hard questions about my faith. Was it my own, or was it my parents? Could a reasonably intelligent person really believe an ancient book held timeless wisdom?

After all, when had I seen a bona fide miracle? An unquestioned answer to prayer? Was my faith authentic, or was it merely wishful thinking? How could I know for sure? Could anyone know for sure?

I questioned.

That’s why I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the skeptic. Let’s face it. There are a lot of things which are hard to accept about the Christian faith.

I was reminded of this a few months ago while substitute teaching. An eighth‑grade student discovered  I am a pastor.

“That reminds me,” she said. “Why do they call her the Virgin Mary? I mean,” she said, stifling a giggle, “if she had a baby, how could she be a virgin?”

Fortunately, another girl came to my rescue and explained the Christian belief about Mary’s conception. The first girl found this preposterous. “Are you kidding? People really believe that? That’s crazy!”

Let’s face it: There are a lot of incredulous things about the Christian faith. We believe in Jesus’ virgin birth. We believe Jesus was God in the flesh. We believe Jesus rose from the dead. We believe history is moving toward a culmination when Jesus will return. We believe

the Bible accurately tells the story of God’s love affair with the human race. We believe that Grace trumps Karma.

Is this blind belief? Is there evidence to support these outlandish claims?

I believe there is. But you’ll have to decide for yourself. I wish I could wave a magic wand to make your doubts disappear. I wish I could lay out the facts and compel your belief. But I can’t, and even if I could I’m not sure it would be wise.

For my own spiritual journey led me to discover Christianity is not as much a matter of accepting certain facts as true, as it is about committing your life to a person. At its root, Christianity is about falling in love with Jesus.

So be careful. An honest inquiry into Christianity will lead you directly to the person of Jesus. At some point, then, you will need to make a decision: “Is this person who he says he is, and worthy of my complete devotion?”

For my part, the answer was, and is, “Yes.” And I’ve never regretted it.