“Why am I a Christian? The short (and selfish) answer is that I like being loved!

I had the good fortune to grow up in a loving family, where Christian faith was lived but not forced upon us children. Since before I can remember I have known that I live in God’s beautiful universe, that he knows and loves me, and sent Jesus to bear the consequences of my faults and failings and open the way for me to be forgiven and know his love.

Of course through 68 years of life so far that faith has had to be tested through experience and examined through study. I had a scientific training and need things to make sense. Things that challenge my faith are God’s baffling tolerance of history’s atrocities; unanswered prayers; times when God seems absent and occasions when Christians behave badly. Things that feed my faith are seeing beauty in nature, answered prayers, seeing good change come into people’s lives as they encounter Jesus, the continuing discovery of the character of Jesus, and the challenge of meeting people who live out their faith.

I see my life as a walk with God – a rather unequal friendship! I know he calls the shots. I know there is much more about him that I don’t understand, than the little I do. But I know he loves me and all his creation, and that in the future I will know him a lot better than I do now. That is definitely something I look forward to.”