I grew up in a strong Christian home.  My parents are both wonderful role models and disciples of Christ, as are my grandparents.  I have a strong set of Christian friends to support me, and my church family is full of extremely loving and Christ-like people.  That said, maybe it's no wonder that I, too, am a follower of Christ.  Having a good life makes it easy to be a believer, right?  Hardly, though I am certainly grateful to my friends and family for being such positive influences, and even for introducing me to God and His Word.

But what about the times when I fall, and Mom and Dad aren't around to pick me back up?  What about the times when I slip, and no friends are there to say, "It's ok"?  Those are the times when the doubt creeps in and faith can stumble.  I have had times like that, too, where I've felt as low as can be, and no one seemed to be available for encouragement.

I always, always, come back to my Father, though.  I can't help it.  I pull myself away from God's embrace, doubting that He could really help me.  But just as my patience and sanity seem to be at the brink of tearing my heart in two, He intervenes and I come away a stronger man than before.

Sometimes I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how I could be a Christian.  I am a logical-thinking person -- I think way too much actually.  According to the world, a person like that should be able to rationalize that God doesn't exist.  After all, if you really think about it, the concept of a Divine Being is really just for fairy tales and for giving hope to those who aren't as rational.  Right?

I would be lying if I said that those kinds of thoughts haven't crossed my mind.  I have sat before and tried to convince myself that God doesn't exist -- that He couldn't exist.  It never works, though!  I've thought about the alternatives: a world created by chance, pieced together by some sort of cosmic quark.  A world where premarital sex really is okay, where nothing is wrong if it seems right.  This is the world many people seem to want, isn't it?

As I have these debates with myself, the conclusion is always the same: there is just no other way.  I look around the world at all the bad things going on; and I realize that there must be some evil power at work, and there must be Someone to repair the damage we've done.  I see all the good things happening, and I recognize that humans aren't just naturally going to help each other, so there must be some Being intervening to convince us to do right.

I look at the wind flowing in the trees, birds flying through the blue sky, the stars blanketing the night sky.  These things could not have popped into place.  Nature is too beautiful to be an "accident."  Random chance is not nearly so artistic.

I look at my own body; I look into my own heart.  And I realize that I am special, that I'm not simply another product of a branch in an evolutionary tree.

No, growing up in a Christian home does not make someone a believer.  Being a pastor's kid does not automatically instill someone with profound faith.  Hanging around with Christian friends cannot answer all the questions someone might have about God.  Sure, those things all help, and praise God if you have them.  But developing true faith requires much more personal processing, between you and God.

My parents, church, and friends may have done a good job in helping me to become a member of God's family, but they could do very little to make me stay in it.  I am a college student now, and even at my wonderful Christian university, my faith is challenged pretty much on a daily basis, by material in classes that doesn't quite fit my worldview, by people around me engaging in activities that I try to avoid, and by my own doubts and questions.

Yet (and I give full credit to the Lord), during this time of the greatest tests of my personal faith, I have come closer to God than ever before, and His Word has become a much more integral part of my life.  Not that it's been easy, mind you.  In fact, right now the doubts and fears seem to be pouring on about as fast as they can be lifted.  But as much as I falter and struggle (and I do), God always brings me back and shines His glorious light in my blind eyes.

So I just can't help but be a Christian.  And if you think about it -- I mean really think about it -- why would anyone not believe?