"Belief" Actually Starts as a "Choice."

There are four minutes left in the game as the home team’s quarterback steps towards the line of scrimmage.

With 80 yards to go and losing by four points, things look tough. He surveys his team, seeing that his line is exhausted, and lamenting that the team’s star receiver was injured during an earlier set of downs. To top things off, his ankle is feeling unsteady, the result of particularly vicious hit he took the previous play. He wipes his hands on his jersey, and surveys the defense. It’s decision time.

The quarterback considers his options: First, he can call time-out, and tell the coach he’s too injured to continue. If his rookie replacement drives the team to a score, that’s cool — it would be a shared victory, and he’d get the credit for having put them in the position to win.

If the rookie blows it, well, that’s life. At least he would be on the sidelines, away from the gaze of the disappointed crowd. He ponders this option for what seems like hours, wondering who could blame him. After all, the chances of actually getting the ball into the end zone against this particular defense are slim.

Then he considers his next option: To take the snap, and push for the touchdown.

But to do that, he knows he’s got to tell himself it’s at least possible. Against all odds, he’s got to look down the field, and say, “Pure logic tells me otherwise, but I think this can be done. I want this. If I just throw caution to the wind and take the snap, everything will fall in place. I’m taking this team forward until the clock runs down, or ball is in the end zone.

He makes his decision, steps to the line, sets himself for the play, and begins to call the signals.

And then, something strange happens.

Before the ball is even snapped, the Referee blows his whistle and signals for a touchdown. The crowd goes wild, and pours onto the field. His teammates lift him over their heads, and carry him down the field.

Seeing the ref to his right, the confused quarterback calls out, “I don’t get it! We didn’t score!”

“No need!” the Ref shouts back, “all you had to do was decide you wanted to score.”

This, my friends, is the story of Christianity, told to clarify what (I believe) is a great misunderstanding.

You see, most people think you have to actually score to win the game. They believe you have to battle your way down the field, overcome every obstacle, put the ball in the end zone, physically feel the roar of the crowd, and actually see the points on the scoreboard before you can say, “I made it.”

Fortunately, that’s not the case. In fact, you don’t even have to know in your heart that you’re going to score. With Christianity, you just have to say, “I want to score.”

Let me clarify: There are plenty of people reading this right now who don’t go to church, because they don’t feel they really believe in Jesus and his Gospel. They wonder what the point of going to church would be, because they’d just be sitting there, going through the motions and worshipping a “Savior” they don’t really believe exists. This is because they think a person must make it into the end zone in order to be a believer. In short, they think they must score the touchdown in order to score the touchdown.

The perception of what is meant by “scoring the touchdown” is often further distorted by the scale people use for measuring belief. They will often think of a very enthusiastically religious friend — one who goes to Bible study every night, and talks about Jesus all the time — and think, “I’d never reach that point. I guess that means I can’t become a believer.”

Here’s the good news: Jesus doesn’t expect you to believe in him in order to believe in him. He doesn’t expect you to believe in him before you believe in him. What He wants you to do is say, “You know what? Jesus says He offers forgiveness and eternal life to those who follow him. Getting forgiveness for all the lousy things I’ve done and a reward of eternal life sounds pretty good to me. I want that.”

With that out of the way, he wants you to say, “Jesus, I want the things you offer, so I now choose to believe in you. I choose it in the same way a quarterback chooses to stay in the game and press for the win. To show you I’m serious, I’m going to start going to church to hear the sermons, and I’m going to sign up for a “new Christians” course to learn more. This way, you can use my decision to follow and believe in you as the vehicle to help me understand what this is all about.”

Unfortunately, some people get derailed at this point because they seek advice from well-meaning people who just don’t remember (at all) what it was like to have been a rookie.

How can this happen? It’s simple — lots of veteran players get confused about their role in the game, and instead of helping you with your fundamentals, they stand in what they think is the end zone shouting, “Come on! It’s easy! Just think like an experienced veteran, and join us in the end zone! Hurry up! You call yourself a football player?!! At this rate, you’ll never score!”

Not helpful.

And not true. You scored when you had a personal conversation with Jesus saying, “I now choose to believe. Thank you for dieing on the cross. I now turn my back on everything I know is wrong. I accept that you died for me, and I accept you as my Lord and Savior. I ask you right now to come into my life, and guide me with your Holy Spirit towards the kind of life you want me to live.”

Is it really that easy? You betcha. Eternal life through Jesus Christ is God’s free gift to mankind.

Free, but not cheap. It cost Jesus his human life, something He treasured just like any man-- so if you pray that prayer, do so with as much thanks and awe as you can muster. After all, you’re talking to the guy who commanded the universe to be.

In closing, I’ll add this: If you decide to become a Christian right now, Jesus is running a special offer: You don’t have to tell anyone. It can be between the two of you until you decide you’re ready. In the meantime, he’ll use your belief to help you understand.