Deep water faith in the shallow end
1 Peter 2v2-3: “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”
In the Casting crowns song ‘Somewhere in the middle’ they have a line “Deep water faith in the shallow end”. I believe that phrase sums up where many of us are in our walk with God.
We are in the shallow end of the pool of life, in far enough to get a bit wet, but not out of our safety zone. We are still in the area that our feet can touch the ground. We are in control, we have yet to take the plunge and go beyond where we can stand on our on to where we need to fully trust on God for safety and protection.
But we need to go deeper. When we first became Christians sure we needed to get familiar with everything in the safety of the shallow end. People learn to swim start at the shallow end. But as they get more confident they soon progress towards the deep end. We can’t spend our whole life stuck where we feel safe; otherwise we will miss out on much that God wants to do through us. In the Church today many of us seem to be content to remain not that much deeper than we where when we first got saved. But that is not what Jesus calls us to. He expects that as we grow in faith we will move on, using that increased faith to move out of the shallow end and into the deep end of total reliance on Him.
See the thing with faith is that it is a bit like muscle – if you don’t exercise it regularly it deteriorates. If we aren’t regularly putting our faith into action when push comes to shove and the heat is on we may just find it isn’t as strong as we thought it was. Rather than sit in the shallow end and let our faith waste away we need to go deeper and put it into action so that when we the crisis comes it will be strong enough to endure.
In most swimming pools the shallow end tends to be just a small section at one end. Do we really want to go through life stuck in one small section, missing out on all the other parts of the pool of life has to offer?
For many of us it is not a matter of not having the faith – I believe there are many of us who have the faith needed to go to the ‘deep end’, we just like the comfort and familiarity of the shallow end too much to leave. It is time to step out and go deeper.
God promises He will protect us – in Isaiah 43:2 he promises
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.”
For each of us, heading to the deep end will have different implications in our life. It may mean moving on from the slightly toned down Youth Bible to a more accurate, harder to read translation like the NLT, NIV or ESV (The good news is these days you can get student editions of pretty much any translation with easy reference guides to topics, issues, core verses etc, and even stylish covers [although of course it is what is between the covers that counts, not what is on them!])
Maybe it will mean stepping up to the plate and taking on some form of leadership/service role in your church – perhaps volunteering for something as simple as helping with tea and coffee, or maybe your church Sunday School. Or if you are slightly older, looking into getting involved with leadership in your YF.
Perhaps moving to the deep end will mean giving up a few comforts for hardships as you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus.
It could mean spending less of your time giving in to your desires and more time acting on God’s desire that we love justice and show mercy. Less time watching trashy chat shows on the TV and more time praying for the advance of the Kingdom of heaven. Less time listening to the corrupt messages of secular culture on your iPod and more time filling your ears with worship music. (Garbage In, Garbage Out and all that GCSE ICT stuff…)
Maybe going to the deep end will mean handing over control of areas of your life that previously you have been firmly in the driving seat of to God, letting Him steer you rather than try to invite Him for the ride with you. It could mean seeking God’s guidance on what to do with your life, rather than just going with what your school careers advisor says. It could be being wise with your money, giving some to charity rather than McDonalds or Nike.
For you it could be all of these, some of these, or maybe something completely different. Whatever you personally need to do, it is important that we as a generation all do it, because the shallow end is getting a bit crowded, and frankly, staying in the shallow end, in our comfort zone, isn’t going to change the world. It is only when we go beyond where we feel safe, beyond where we are in control, beyond what the world expects and into the deep end with the power of God that greater things will start to happen. Are you ready to take the plunge?
This was written in JFK airport. Kind of random location to write a Christian teaching article in, but hey. What do you think? Are you prepared to take the plunge? In what ways have you been challenged to go deeper?
‘God’ doesn’t protect, if he protected why would he let christians die, get hurt, get killed?
‘God’ is part of the mind, God is only our own human beliefs, we feel safe and comfertable to think there is someone protecting us, so we make ourselves think theres someone there , and everything is fine. Everyone who doesn’t believe this view is in sin- A sinner, for having a different view, sounds a little like the Nazi’s, no?
It’s all lies, created for a number of possible reasons, where is god? where are the signs of god? where is proof of god? The only proof is a 2000 year old book, which could’ve been writen by ANYONE.
We are not special, we are pure chance.
OI! DON’T BE AN IDIOT
GOD IS REAL HE VISITS ME IN DREAMS AND TELLS ME ABOUT HOW ALL THE NON-BELIEVERS AND UNFAITHFUL WILL BURN FOR THEIR SINS!
LORD HAVE NO MERCY UPON THIS POOR EXCUSE FOR A CHRISTIAN.
Hmmm… Caps lock doesn’t make you any more of a man.
Dreams..they’re in your mind…proves my point a little.
I’M NOT A MAN, I’M A TRANSVESTITE I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW! BEFORE YOU SAY THAT ACCORDING TO GOD IT’S WRONG, IT’S NOT, HE TOLD ME, BUT THIS TIME, IT WAS IN REAL LIFE, WE FED DUCKS AND STUFF, WAS AMAZING!
NOW LEAVE THIS SITE ALONE SO WE CAN LIVE IN PEACE YOU (inappropriate language removed)!
See what religion causes…Jordan Mcphee
@ Dom: God doesn’t ‘let’ christians die. He lets mankind have freewill. As a consequence we are free to make decision that result in the death of others. For example, the Nazis had freewill, and abused that to kill millions of jews and other ‘outcasts’ including some Christians.
Everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23), not just those who don’t believe in God, however if you believe in God He will forgive you of your sins.
Where is God? What are the signs of God? Just open your eyes and look around you! You really think the world came here from a chance explosion of nothingness? You really think our bodies, with all their complexity and intricacy came about through the chance and randomness of evolution?
Scientists have calculated the chances of life on earth happening unorchestrated are 1×10^40000 (an incredibly high number – 1 with 40000 0s after it!)
You might also like to consider the watchmaker argument – if you are walking along a beach and find a watch washed up on the shore you don’t think “How amazing. The waves have managed to form this out of the various clogs, hands and dials.” Instead you think “Someone has made this”.
Likewise, when you look at the world, which is a lot more complex than a watch, how can you think “How amazing. An explosion of gas managed to form this” as opposed to “Someone (God) must have made this”?
As for the bible – there are historical records that confirm various parts of the Old Testament, plus Roman records that confirm Jesus was a historical figure.
@Jordan McPhee – I don’t know if you are being genuine calling yourself a Christian or are just here for debate, but if you are being genuine, I would be rather worried about your intolerant answer to non-Christians asking valid questions on this site. They are most in need of the message of Jesus that can be found on this site.
I think a large explosion is a much more feasable explination than a magic man in the sky making the world in a week…
We are pure lchance, nothing more, we have life out of chance, we are us out of chance, a magic man in the sky doesn’t dictate us, if he made earth did he make the sun aswell? did he make the other planets, or did it just so happen there was a missing place in our solar system?
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=6c92798dd1d208208d82
I found that video quite amusing, critisising the theory for the one blank, which is being filled with much more plausable explinations- whilst you continue to clutch onto the idea of a magic man in the sky making the world in 7 days :S If christianity is all about being good, pure etc. then how come
they need to subliminaly recruit new christians (Eg. Narnia- quite obvious aslam is meant to = jesus)
It’s all rubbish, people are gullable, I beleive a believable start to everything, you believe a VERY farfetched belief.
Again- we’re not special, we are chance.
Narnia was written as an enjoyable story with parallels to the Christian faith, not as propaganda.
So nothing coming together and exploding and suddenly there being a universe is a believable explanation to the start of everything.
My logic tells me that if there is a creation there must be a creator
So, a creator can be made of nothing but not the planets? And then that creator can create planets and such from a further nothing?., you’ve teared quite a big hole in your belief- without my help.
Every single religon on this earth is all a different way of worshiping the sun in the sky. At the dawn of man the sun would of been seen as the source of life, very similar to your ‘God’.
Before the universe there was no time -God exists outside the realm of time, and has no beginning or end.
There has to have been something that has always been present, no matter what theory you buy into for the origins of life – be it God or some other trigger for a big bang (Incidentally, God when God made the world, He may have done so with a loud bang, who knows?)
“So nothing coming together and exploding and suddenly there being a universe is a believable explanation to the start of everything.”
You were lying here then?
“There has to have been something that has always been present, no matter what theory you buy into”
Or was it here?
Hello? Where have you gone? I miss you.
Hi dom,
Lets take a look at the word ‘chance’.
Well, let’s just say you participate in a lottery of four digit numbers. Only 1 number will be the winning number. The ‘chance’ for winning that round would then be a mere 0.01%, or a 1/10000 chance.
Then what would be the chance for winning the lottery 3 times in a row? (wow, one must be filthy rich then)
1/10^12
Now, yes, that is possible, but there are just some thing’s that give such a little amount of probability, that we term a new word for it.
Ever survived an operation where you had only a one percent chance of success?
Ever got into a situation where statistics were not in your favour, but you benefited in the end?
Bet you did, and you had a term for it – miracles.
You don’t go out surviving a one-percent-chance-of-success operation saying it was by ‘pure chance’, don’t you? Most probably, you would say ‘It’s a miracle.’
And that’s when chance became a miracle.
Take a look at your human body in this case. Perfectly designed. (Forget about not having wings, if humanity had them, they would start colliding into each other, given the massive population =D)
And EVERY SINGLE base pair in the human gene is different. Now what’s the chance of that happening? Enough to become a miracle I guess.
You see, Christianity was never meant to be solely a religion. Our God is a God of miracles. And as much as you try to deny it, Jesus did exist. That was PROVEN.
Next question we ask is ‘Why Jesus?’
If sometimes we could just stop being so resistant to start questioning, we would see how beautiful most of us are on the outside, yet ugly on the inside.
Ever asked an alcoholic what is the feeling of a hangover?
Ever asked a prostitute what it was like slaving herself for money?
Ever asked a drug addict what it was like to be trapped in an addiction?
You may now say, well, “HELL NO! I’m not into this kinda stuff!”
Ever asked a businessman about the sleepless nights he had?
Ever asked a soldier placed on high alert guard duty about his fear?
Ever asked about the coach of a team who is a loser in his own mind?
You see, we humans have a void inside, which no guy, no girl, no one can ever fill. Ever felt it? There’s a difference between short lived happiness and ever lasting joy.
Happiness is striking the lottery. Sadness comes when you realised you have spent all that money.
Happiness is hooking up with a hot chick. Sadness comes in that feeling of utter meaningless after that.
Happiness is amounting a million billion trillion dollars in our bank. Sadness comes when you realise you spent your life slaving for cash itself, never being able to spend it.
Happiness is a one time thing. Joy is different.
Joy is knowing that your wife still loves you even after that tiff your had.
Joy is knowing that you are living for a purpose.
And we are. Yes, it may seem rather foolish to you, since we’re living in a world of common sense. But ever pondered the difference between the smiles of Mother Teresa and the frowns of Bill Gates?
Well, shall stop here. It may seem abrupt, but yea, I need you to ponder over these.
Cheers.
What you said did not interest me, you are writing alot to big yourself up- it is not working…
Chance= SOMETHING NOT PREDICTED AND OUT THE THE BLUE
Which we are
x
I have read a little more of what you have written. You honestly think the probability that there is a magic man in the sky is greater than the probability of the big bang, evolution etc, we’re not perfect, think about how messed up the human mind is, if we were perfect war would not exist, hatred would not exist, cancer would not exist.
We are not designed too well really if you think about it, and we can only question the chance of us being here because chance is in our favour, if it wasnt, then we wouldnt know about it because we wouldnt be here.
I repeat: Scientists have calculated the chances of life on earth happening unorchestrated are 1×10^40000 (an incredibly high number – 1 with 40000 0s after it!)
Dom – You say that well are not well designed?
Well I’d like to see you do a better job
Imagine having all these people to look after, love, care for. Having THOUSANDS of people rely on you, asking for your help. Imagine seeing people starving because of what you created, turning against you after all you’ve done for them. Giving your only son to save them, and then pointing flaws in their design. And youre criticising this ‘Magic Man in The Sky’?
I’d like to see you try. You wouldnt last 2 seconds.
Pete- I repeat: What is more likely, an explosion creating everything or a magic man in the sky making the world in 7 days?
Katie- I couldn’t do a better job, I haven’t said I could, I was replying to Fabian when he said how complex and great we are, I just told him we are not great. I’m saying there is nobody there to look after us, nobody there to watch what we are doing, nobody there to watch us cock it all up
But he IS there to watch us/look after us
Thats the point. Thats what he does! Helps us, cares for us etc
He loves us.
What else would he do!?
Dom,
You asked why Christians die and get hurt. God never promised us that we would never suffer. Suffering was here right from the very beginning, as a result of sin, which was a result of the free will that was given to us. We will always suffer. Christians suffer from cancer, Christians suffer from depression, Christians experience grief, and Christians die. We’re human. But God did promise us that we will never suffer alone.
I am not here to argue with you. I know that arguing probably wont get us anywhere and neither of us is going to win. I am here to give you my testimony.
If you truly took a look around you, you would see people, living in war, living in poverty, still worshipping the Lord. There are people in this world, probably suffering worse than we are here, who still give everything they have to God, no matter how little that might be. How can you not be touched by this? How can you not see and be moved, or at least, intrigued, by the joy that people can hold, for the Lord, even during the darkest of times!
I dont have proof of God. I cant show you God for you to see and hear and feel. The only proof I have is MY LIFE, lived wholly for GOD, and the fulfillment of EVERY PROMISE that was given to us by OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
May God bless you and open your eyes to His love and glory. Amen.
Then what’s the point in the lord ‘watching over us’? if he does nothing in the interests of the Christians, apart from the self esteem, self belief, happiness etc they can find through other, more believable means.
I want to make clear I’m not trying to argue, I’m trying to debate, open your eyes up to some things aswell as you trying to do vice versa.
God is part of the mind, where we feel safe, looked after, cared about, we feel happy and safe in this state of mind, which is why many people chose to live it.
Argue or debate, I’m not doing either. I’m simply sharing.
May I ask you where you got the idea that God does ‘nothing in the interests in Christians’? If I were to list all the things that I know the Lord has done for me… I would never finish.
I have only been a Christian for a little more than a year. Already, I know God IS here, and He IS protecting us and guiding us. I thank the Lord every day, because of everything He has done for us, and given us. God provides me with everything I need for the day, and even more. God has blessed me with joy, and strength, and courage, and wisdom, even in the darkest times of my life.
I suffered from depression, since the age of 13. And I thank God, because I am now healed. All I can say is that this is truly a miracle.
I was the first in my family to become a Christian. I prayed for my family, day after day, and after 8 months, my mother has accept Christ. This, also, is truly a miracle to me.
Being a Christian has changed my life, and changed my way of thinking. Anyone who has known me since I was a child, would tell you that I am now a totally different person. I am no longer violent, self-seeking, dishonest, ignorant, stubborn. By God’s power, I have been changed. I now seek only to serve God, to do His will, to please Him, and to be the person that He wants me to be.
I cannot say that I am perfect. Nobody can. But I can say that I have been changed. I have experienced a joy and a passion that I never thought exists. And it doesnt exist, if you don’t know the Lord. It is a feeling of true fulfillment, that only God can give you.
Praise the Lord! Amen.
You’ve changed because you really think there is someone there, I think it’s more the mind that changes you, finding ‘God’ has put you in a positive, blissful state of mind, and because there are no other signs of God you need to relate whatever you can to your theory, to try and prove to yourself – and everyone else that God is real.
I don’t need to prove to myself that God is real, because I KNOW that God is real and God is here.
We live by faith and not by sight. Becoming a Christian was the biggest choice I’ve ever made, and it has also turned out to be the best choice I’ve ever made. It was a step of FAITH. It’s like stepping into darkness, where you’re not sure what is to come. But it was through FAITH that I experienced things that could not normally be experienced. Faith is believing what you cannot see, but knowing that you will see after you believe.
I have believed, and I now see, and know, that God is real.
Agreed. We know it is God because we have faith.
Unfortunately people who dont follow God will not understand how we feel, because they dont have faith that God is real.
Its hard to explain and maybe understand, but christians just know. They are filled with faith, and perhaps if you become a christian, you will understand too. If not, well, quoting pete in the forums, ‘ it will be sad to see you go to hell, and not just you, other people aswell (friends family) screaming ‘why didnt you tell me?’
So we’re just here to give you our view.
Where will you be spending eternity? We know where we’ll be.
To begin with, no one can say they are a complete atheist because that would mean that they have been everywhere, seen everything in the universe therefore to say there is no God, no one has done that.
Secondly lets look at things scientifically, in every explosion ever documented or witnessed, the only thing that has ever resulted is chaos, not order but chaos. No matter how many times you blow up a scrap yard you won’t get a jumbo jet, even if you left the contents for millions of years. Atheists try to explain the universe in the form of energy and matter, that’s like trying to explain a written letter by the ink and the paper, you can’t it shows intellegence.
The big bang tries to tell us that everything in the universe has come from a speck of dust exploding, when you look at the size of the universe that is ridiculous nevermind getting into the issue of where the dust came from or what made it explode- flip if scientists really believed it they wouldn’t use candles, lighters or anything just incase the billions of dust particles in the world suddenly combusted creating billions more universes!
then if we look at science, scientific laws disprove the big bang and evolution, the laws of thermodynamics and Biogenesis both proven show that it can’t work (hmmm i wonder why they are swept under the rug?)
Finally if there is no God then you have shot yoursef in the foot, because if everything is chance then the concepts of intelligence, logic and perception are all chance therefore how can you say that intelligence is greater than faith if they are both random chance, you can’t trust yourself or your brain and will live in complete insomnia because at any moment you idea of reality could end as it is all chance.
The reason that people can’t see God is not because of a lack of evidence but because they are proud. They think that God needs them when infact they need God. They want to be able to comprehend and visualise God yet that is impossible, God is incomprable, how can a human eye fully visualise the God that created it? If you want to control your own life and explain away God then thats fine but that doesn’t mean that you won’t stand before Him in judgement, once someone admits to the existance of God then they are accountable to God, the reason people say they don’t believe in God is not because of intellegence and evidence but because of their sin.
Alright I think I gotta fair bit to write here
Firstly, Daniel, What the hell!? ‘no one can say they are a complete atheist because that would mean that they have been everywhere, seen everything in the universe therefore to say there is no God, no one has done that.’ does this mean YOU’VE traveled the universe and found him to call yourself a complete christian? Or is it only faith in God that counts? Does faith in another explanation not count? So you’ve shot yourself in the foot as well…unless your THAT close-minded.
Katie, Why would I be worried about Heaven/Hell etc if I don’t believe in it? And like I said to Daniel, you don’t need to be christian to have faith in a belief.
‘Untouched’, I put my faith into my beliefs as well, just a different belief- and the proper definition of faith : “Faith is a belief in the trustworthiness of an idea”, and I find my idea pretty trustworthy
I think I can explain what Daniel meant by ‘no one can say they are a complete atheist because that would mean that they have been everywhere, seen everything in the universe therefore to say there is no God, no one has done that.’
If you were to say that something (in this case, God) didn’t exist, you would have to know of everything that DOES exist. But if you were to say that something (God) does exist, you only have to know of that one thing: God.
And I would define faith differently. Like I said before, faith is believing in something you cannot see.
And btw, my name’s Sarah. It only says ‘untouched’ because I’m logged in as untouched.
My apologises Dom if you misunderstood me, I was referring to your numerous absolute statements that we are pure chance which I don’t feel anyone can make because you havn’t been everywhere to know there is no God.
In contrast yes I have been very few places on this earth never mind the universe but the evidence points to it. How many criminals are actually caught at the crime scene yet so many go to prison because the jury believe they are guilty beyond reasonable doubt. They build up the evidence from the scene, if we use this analogy in creation there is overwhelming evidence for a creator; the beauty of creation, the complexity of creation, logical thought, scientific law, the conscience, universal morality, the failure of ev
(sorry bout that i hit submit by mistake)-.. the failure of every atheistic society in history as man cannot live without the concept of God for any long period of time.
Secondly I not only know God by evidence, i know God by experience, i have not found God, God found me, i had to humble myself and ask Him to forgive me of my sin and come into my life. Our sin seperates us from God, just like when it is cloudy we can’t see the sun, that doesn’t mean it’s not there but we can’t see it. Yes even when it’s cloudy we can see evidence for the sun ie; heat and light and we can see the evidence for God ie; the conscience and creation. But I thank God that he removed the cloud of my sin so I can see Him and to quote C.S. Lewis,
“I believe in God like I believe in the sun, not just because I can see it but because I can see everything else by it.”
The question is are you actually looking for God or have you decided that you don’t like the idea of God because that makes you accountable to Him, because if you humble yourself and seek God you will find Him but you have to want to,
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” Jeremiah 29v13
[quote]I repeat: Scientists have calculated the chances of life on earth happening unorchestrated are 1×10^40000 (an incredibly high number – 1 with 40000 0s after it!)[/quote]
Rubbish. Where did you get this from? Fred Hoyle? We simply do not know enough about abiogenesis to make this sort of conclusion.
“Ever survived an operation where you had only a one percent chance of success?
Ever got into a situation where statistics were not in your favour, but you benefited in the end?
Bet you did, and you had a term for it – miracles.”
Confirmation bias. Think of all the million times something doesn’t go in your favour, or in someone elses. Once in a while, due to probability theory, something unlikely will happen, if you repeat it enough times. It is humankinds’ over active pattern spotting brain that assumes it is special.
“You don’t go out surviving a one-percent-chance-of-success operation saying it was by ‘pure chance’, don’t you?”
Yes actually.
“Take a look at your human body in this case. Perfectly designed.”
Pull the other one. Coccyx, wisdom teeth, blind spots, spinal problems caused by walking upright, cancer, vision noway near that of some animals, narrow spectrum of vision etc, same for all other senses, etc etc etc.
“(Forget about not having wings, if humanity had them, they would start colliding into each other, given the massive population =D)”
The sky is rather large. You may have noticed.
“And EVERY SINGLE base pair in the human gene is different. ”
No it’s not. We share 98% (depending on how you look at it) with Chimpanzees, and everything is made out of only 4 types of base: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine.
“Now what’s the chance of that happening? Enough to become a miracle I guess.”
Not really.
“You see, Christianity was never meant to be solely a religion. Our God is a God of miracles. And as much as you try to deny it, Jesus did exist. That was PROVEN.”
Really? I’d say there was some evidence he existed, but his existance is definitely not proven.
“If sometimes we could just stop being so resistant to start questioning, we would see how beautiful most of us are on the outside, yet ugly on the inside.”
Oh lovely. Judaeo-Christian guilt at its finest.
“Ever asked an alcoholic what is the feeling of a hangover?”
Yes… so?
“Ever asked a prostitute what it was like slaving herself for money?”
Pretty nasty I expect. So what?
“You see, we humans have a void inside, which no guy, no girl, no one can ever fill. Ever felt it? There’s a difference between short lived happiness and ever lasting joy.”
HAHAHAHAHA. (The men in white suits will be along shorty.)
“Joy is knowing that you are living for a purpose.”
For you maybe. Not for me. And it doesn’t make it true.
“And we are. Yes, it may seem rather foolish to you, since we’re living in a world of common sense.”
Oh that’s brilliant.
“But ever pondered the difference between the smiles of Mother Teresa and the frowns of Bill Gates?”
Actually, Mother Teresa frowned an awful lot, and Bill Gates was pretty happy last time I checked.
“you havn’t been everywhere to know there is no God.”
Is there a flying spaghetti monster? No? Prove it.
“They build up the evidence from the scene, if we use this analogy in creation there is overwhelming evidence for a creator; the beauty of creation, the complexity of creation, logical thought, scientific law, the conscience, universal morality, the failure of every atheistic society in history as man cannot live without the concept of God for any long period of time.”
Beauty is subjective – in the eye of the beholder. Is the sight of a crocodile ripping the leg of a zebra, or a child with parasites in the eye beautiful?
Complexity can rise out of simplicity.
Logical thought – we relate things to the way the world seems to operate: hardly stunning.
Scientific law – just the way the world works. Hardly evidence for a creator.
Conscience – evolutionary altruism.
Universal morality is a myth. Morality is only generally similar, but still subjective. Again, altruism.
Atheistic society – sweden perhaps? c.80% free-thinkers.
“I believe in God like I believe in the sun, not just because I can see it but because I can see everything else by it.”
This quote makes no sense. I really don’t understand why christians like Lewis so much. So you see things through a world view. So what? That doesn’t make it true. Experiences, especially feelings like joy, can be very untrustworthy. That is why a system of analysis using objective measurements is needed i.e. science. Besides, I don’t believe in the sun because I see things by it. I believe in it because I see it. Did people before the theory of optics not believe in the sun? No.
“The question is are you actually looking for God or have you decided that you don’t like the idea of God because that makes you accountable to Him, because if you humble yourself and seek God you will find Him but you have to want to”
Theists always assume atheists are rebels. Perhaps we just want to be true to ourselves and follow the evidence? Just a thought…