Whether you like it or not, you are a believer. You get to pick what you believe in, but you have no say over your need to believe. You may believe in science or Buddha or Jesus or Oprah or yourself, but you have faith in something.

And it doesn’t help that we have redefined what it means to believe. To most of us, the word “believe” basically means, “I agree with the data.” Believing is something we do with our mind. But when Jesus spoke of belief, he meant something very different. Jesus taught that to “believe” in God has to do with trusting.

What we believe in is what we trust in.

In the end, it’s all about trust. Truth is a very personal thing. Truth is not simply something we come to know; truth is something that becomes a part of us. Whatever we conclude is truth directly affects not only what we believe, but also who we become. This is especially true when it comes to our search for meaning. Anything that we decide is not true becomes irrelevant and unimportant to us; it just doesn’t matter. So if I don’t believe God exists, he becomes irrelevant to my life.

Who we decide we can trust inevitably becomes our source of truth. The more trustworthy we determine the source to be, the shorter the leap of faith. When we are searching for truth, what we’re really trying to do is figure out who can be trusted. When we conclude no one can be trusted, we find ourselves struggling with doubt and afraid to commit. The less we trust someone, the less likely we are to commit our life to that person. The more we trust someone, the easier it is to commit to them.

This is one reason Jesus connects so powerfully with my soul. He taught us that we don’t come to know the truth as a result of academic pursuit. Jesus taught that the truth isn’t an answer; it’s a person. Jesus didn’t come to simply show us a better way or point us to a better life–he came to invite us to know him as Savior and friend.

Think about it, if all God had wanted was to make sure that we knew the truth, Jesus didn’t have to come. God could have carved his truth in stone on the faces of every mountain. He could have filled the sky with words of wisdom in every language. But as amazing as that would be, it would not be enough. We need more than that. We need to know the One who is true.

Jesus walked among us not so that he could get to know us, but so that we could come to know him. 

God himself stepped into human history so that we would know that he is not only the source of truth, but that he is utterly and completely trustworthy.

There are a lot of words attached to God… Lord, Master, King, Almighty, Sovereign… and one name that doesn’t seem to fit… Father.  Is it possible that thousands of years before we found ourselves where we are today, God already knew that our search for truth would lead us back to a far more human question: Is there anyone I can trust?