We Have Been Lied To

I had a really interesting experience the other day with someone who says that she just does not believe in God. For some reason however she has been reading the Bible and trying to understand why I believe as I do. She was troubled because she found the Bible to be so complex and so confusing and she had so many questions about creation, the garden, the flood, the giants, and so on. I found myself telling her that I agree; there is a lot to be confused over and it is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we can understand anything at all. I told her, however, that there are some very simple things which are very easy to understand and to which the Bible speaks so clearly. I said that she does not have to dig very deep to know that she has lied, cheated, been selfish, hurt people, and is probably guilty of so many hidden “sins” that no one will ever know. (She started to squirm a bit as if to try and make sure that I do not see what she was so clearly seeing.)  And, surprisingly with each such indiscretion and experience there has grown a mountain of pain and guilt. (Tension began to overtake her countenance as she was clearly more than aware of her guilt, even though she has tried so hard to ignore it). I told her that the pain is just God letting her know how much she needs Him. I said that He loves her and is pursuing her and just wants the opportunity to demonstrate that to her by forgiving her of everything she has ever done and ever will do. (Her eyes started to well up with tears and she tried so hard not to breakdown but to remain strong). I told her that He wants to love you like you have never been loved before. He even wants to give you His life and come and life in yours. He wants to help you with each and every choice you ever have to make so that your life can be lived in peace and rest. (Her eyes were huge as she tried to hold back the tears, but the more she tried the more they found their release down her cheeks). I told her that He is now pursuing her and He won’t stop; He just wants to love her. (She quickly got control and navigated our discussion to a new topic). I said that I really enjoyed talking to her.