As a teenager, I was probably as vocal an atheist as you could realistically be, absolutely convinced that the Christian faith was nothing more than a dangerous lie designed to provide false comfort for people who needed help. Today, by God’s grace, I’m completely convinced of the opposite.

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ, his perfect life, his sacrificial death and his glorious resurrection from the dead, is the most important truth there is. I first began to look into the claims of Christianity several years ago after a conversation with another non-Christian. We’d been laughing basically about what we saw as the ridiculous claims of the Bible. After these conversations I began to ask myself why I’d been so willing to mock this book I’d never read. I decided to pick up a Bible and investigate its claims for myself. I was absolutely amazed and astonished by what I found.

In the Bible, in many ways for the first time, I saw a compelling explanation for why the world is as it as, and why it matters. Through his word, God showed me an explanation for all the beauty in the world, all the joys of life, and the hope and laughter we experience when things are going well. But just as importantly, through the Bible, God pointed me to the root of all the brokenness in the world, all that is wrong. The convicting words of scripture clearly demonstrated to me what the problem was. And through all this, the glorious news of the gospel gave me a new hope.

Because of the amazing power of Jesus life, death and resurrection, I am completely compelled to acknowledge his salvation and lean on the transforming power of his Spirit as I try to follow him.