"Okay, so God has been pursuing me since day one. Ever since I got the curiosity as to what on earth am I here for, He started to devise a plan on how to meet me halfway in my wandering. And I am not the only one who has experienced this.
"Malcolm Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, 'I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued.'
"C.S. Lewis said he remembered, '...night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England.'
"Lewis went on to write a book titled, 'Surprised by Joy' as a result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully admitting God's existence. Yet over the following several months, I became amazed by His love for me."
When no one said anything, I proceeded.
"Does God exist?" I began again, "Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing Himself to us."
"How so?" Samuel asked from the crowd.
I took a deep breath. I smiled. "Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you're looking at Him. Though He talked about his Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation, but of very close union, unique to all humankind. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father, anyone who believed in Him, believed in the Father.
"He said, 'I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' He claimed attributes belonging only to God: to be able to forgive people of their sin, free them from habits of sin, give people a more abundant life and give them eternal life in heaven. Unlike other teachers who focused people on their words, Jesus pointed people to Himself. He did not say, 'follow My words and you will find truth.' He said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.'
"So, what proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine?"
I set down the remote control I had in my hand on the podium next to me. I put my hands in my pockets and, confident in the Spirit, faced them with sincere truthfulness.
"He did what people can't do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed people...blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the dead. He had power over objects...created food out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over nature...walked on top of a lake, commanding a raging storm to stop for some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because He constantly met their needs, doing themiraculous. He said if you do not want to believe what I'm telling you, you should at least believe in Me based on the miracles you're seeing.
"Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship with us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as sinners, worthy of His punishment, His love for us ruled and God came up with a different plan. God Himself took on the form of man and accepted the punishment for our sin on our behalf. Sounds ludicrous? Perhaps, but many loving fathers would gladly trade places with their child in a cancer ward if they could. The Bible says that the reason we would love God is because He first loved us.
"Jesus died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will you see God reaching toward humanity, providing a way for us to have a relationship with Him. Jesus proves a divine heart of love, meeting our needs, drawing us to himself. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, he offers us a new life today. We can be forgiven, fully accepted by God and genuinely loved by God. He says, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you.' This is God, in action.
"Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ. We're told that 'God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.'
"And that's exactly why we're going to discuss about Jesus and His resurrection in the next lecture," I said. "And, by the way, God does not force us to believe in Him, though He could. Instead, He has provided sufficient proof of His existence for us to willingly respond to Him. The earth's perfect distance from the sun, the unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, DNA, the number of people who attest to knowing God, the gnawing in our hearts and minds to determine if God is there, the willingness for God to be known through Jesus Christ."
And with that, everyone applauded. Even Principal Powell and the scientist girl. They looked reluctant to do it, but they did it. Samuel was smiling in the crowd. Amanda and Calum looked dumbstruck. The guys from the baseball team looked embarrassed and shamed--I didn't mean for them to be that way. I just wanted them to realize that me accepting Coach Anderson's ultimatum was not in vain.
Jesus was that worth it.
I ran a hand through my hair. I exhaled nervously. "If you want to begin a relationship with God now, you can."
Some people blinked in surprise, as if to say, Really?
"This is your decision, no coercion here. But if you want to be forgiven by God and come into a relationship with Him, you can do so right now by asking Him to forgive you and come into your life. Jesus said, 'Behold, I stand at the door--of your heart--and knock. He who hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him--or her.' If you want to do this, but aren't sure how to put it into words, this may help: 'Jesus, thank You for dying for my sins. You know my life and that I need to be forgiven. I ask You to forgive me right now and come into my life. I want to know You in a real way. Come into my life now. Thank You that You wanted a relationship with me. Amen.'"
When I walked backstage, Meredith and everyone else from Grace Club applauded. I sighed in relief, thankful I survived through Holy Spirit. Trey tackled me in a bear hug, and then came Meredith, Lily, Aubrey, and soon enough I felt like I would fall flat on the ground.
After that we met up with the people who had repented of their sins. There were two of them. A boy and a girl.
"Hi, I'm Brody Reed," he introduced. He had curly dark hair and braces on his upper teeth. He wore a dark blue track jacket. He looked like he was too tall for his age, though he was only eighteen.
"I'm Melissa Holbrook," the other introduced. She had long blond hair that reached her waist. She introduced herself as someone from the AV Club who always thought evolution had all the answers. She wore pink overalls and a white sweatshirt under it. She also had thick-rimmed glasses.
Brody and Melissa wanted immediately to be a part of Grace Club and to help with the coming lectures.
That night I drove home with the skies dancing in my eyes. I was smiling. I was grinning. I sang worship songs at the top of my lungs. I couldn't stop thanking the Lord for everything He's done for me.
And when I got home underneath the porch light, I pushed the door open with a big smile.
But I didn't meet it back.
"Charlie Borlock, what is this?" Mom asked. Her phone was in her hand. Dad was beside her, equally looking upset.
"What is what?" I asked obliviously. My heart caught in my throat.
"I got an E-mail from your principal," she said.
Disclaimer: This info was taken from an article called "Is There A God?" By Marilyn Adamson