The Idea of God: To believe or not to believe

In the past decade, I have heard the phrase, "I do not believe in God" more times than I ever imagined I would. And as our music and popular culture ushers in a new era of lifestyles, I see many people reject the idea of Christianity. I believe at the root of these two things; there is a God and within the premise of Christianity and similar faiths, there is much left up for interpretation. 

It is for this reason in my role as an Evangelist of the Word of God, I share the following journal from my dedicated writing time this morning in hopes of winning over and or enhancing the structural belief of my fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. 

Written by Ethan Brisby

May 17, 2016

The way I understand God: God is the creator of the entire universe. God is the energy that allows you to hold a thought in your mind and within reason that thought manifest itself into the physical form. God created everything you see around you; he dictates the grass growing, the birds of the air and man kind’s every move. The way I understand the idea of God is that the power of God lives inside of you. God crafted man and woman and breathed life into both. So then, the foundation of the Christian faith is rooted in a belief that the power of God resides in all those who believe in the name Jesus, whom is no more than God himself in the form of a 'Great Teacher' and savior of the world. 

Jesus Christ or whatever name you give to the Savior that fits the description of Jesus Christ is the idea that God lives inside of each of us; and by the grace of this belief, we possess limitless power when we do things a certain way. When Christianity teaches us to believe in the power of Jesus Christ, it is essentially telling us to believe in the power of ourselves; the power that lives inside of you right now. Our 'Great Teacher' told his disciples in the book of John that when he left this earth the ‘Great Counselor’ would come to them, if they believed. This Great Counselor, which I understand to be the spiritual power of God living within each individual is what guides your life. It is that great pull on your heart to be, to have, and to do. Many of us find it hard to believe that we possess this power due to what we choose to focus our minds on. It is for this reason, the Bible instructs its believers to ‘Be ye renewed by the transforming of your mind.’

This path to joy, peace, and love is no easy path. It is a narrow path, and only a few find it. This does not mean it is some secret society, but what it does mean is I, we, you have to definitely decide where we are going and gravitate toward those who are going in that same direction. Without a definiteness of purpose, you will lead an unfulfilled life. You have the power to choose your path. Likewise, any man or woman with their house built on half solid ground and half sand will surely falter. I say these things, not because I have heard this is how it works, but because I have subjected myself to this lifestyle. It is important to understand we are not God, therefore our thinking is not perfect, our actions are not always upright, and our results will vary. For this reason, I seek to reserve judgement of people and instead do as the Great Teacher instructs, love each other.

I understand love to be founded in great tolerance and kindness. Love has no physical equal, it cannot be touch. However, someone you can touch may represent love, but the actual idea of love I believe to be intangible, formless, and always moving. Love is that feeling you have in the morning when you are doing something fulfilling with your life. It's the way you treat strangers and people perceived to be 'less than' you. With this in mind, I believe the longest lasting gift you can give to another person is the power of prayer. For then and only then can they experience the true abundance of love as prayers become things. I have heard many people complain about others who instead of paying their light bill for them or giving them a tangible asset, they instead 'lift them up' through prayer. Prayer in all its certain power, does not always render microwavable results, which is to the detriment of those who despise the art of building. What I understand prayer to be is a graceful message sent out to the all-knowing God, and wherever two on earth would agree in prayer, it shall be done, according to their faith and active belief system. 

With this in mind, I would much rather have a fervent prayer life where I am actually walking in faith after I finish praying, exercising the desires of my heart, and learning as I climb. Versus having someone else fulfill my needs for me every time. This is not to say God, the Universe, the Creator does not use others, of course not, but what it continues to be is I, we, you taking the necessary steps to fulfill the desires of our heart. Prayer congeals your heart's desires and it shapes your beliefs and the truth is, what you believe silently guides your behavior. What I have learned more than anything else as a vanguard of faith, a young single-father, and an aspiring real estate developer is there are certain ways to do things. Remember that, there are certain ways to do things. These ways unequivocally require persistence, setbacks, and eventually you conquer only to start over again. The eyes will never have their fill of seeing nor the ears their fill of hearing. 

Please hear me, creativity and courage is all we have to manifest the desires of our hearts, but listen, there are certain ways to do things. A prudent way, a way that brings more joy, peace, and love into the world even if it does not immediately render money, fame, and success. While surely desirable and within reason, I, we, you are not here to dress fresh and ride clean. The fulfillment of life, I have found is in sowing good seeds, watering those seeds, standing stall in the face of adversity with an absolute resolve about my reasoning, and understanding there is a God, and only God allows those seeds to grow. Fair, there is no fair. So next time you hear someone say they do not believe in God, pray for them and if the timing is right have a conversation about what the idea of God is as I have explained it here. God is energy. God is wisdom. God is the lady who gives you timely advice while standing in line at the grocery store. God is that desire in your heart to feed the children. God is the birds of the sky, the flowers that grow and then wither away. God is understanding that there is a time and a place for everything done under the sun.