God and Faith

By W. Thomas Smith Jr.

Several months ago, when I began kicking-around the idea of a new series on “God and Faith,” I wondered how as a layman I might best serve my readers as regards a topic for which I have little training but a lot of fervor. Then the idea hit me: Though it will certainly be an opinion series, I’ll approach it is a reporter – examining the who, what, when, where, and why of my own faith. I’ll not tackle doctrinal issues (I’m not qualified to do that anyway) nor will I address the nexus between politics and religion (a minefield to be sure).

So what is my belief system? Simple. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that I am saved by His Grace through my faith. I believe in the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. I will never deny the truths of any of these points. Though I will not use this series as a platform to debate other belief systems, ideologies, or simple unbelief (itself a belief system).

So where does that leave me if I am writing about “God and Faith?” It actually leaves me in a wonderful place; a place where I will have the opportunity to share the simple truths of God I’ve experienced in my life, and perhaps touch the fringes of the world of Christian apologetics (will explain that word later), and allow my readers to draw their own conclusions as to what is true and good.

Why the series? It’s simple. God has been tugging at my heart since I was about eight-years-old. Perhaps earlier.

I say this because I’ve always known God was present. As a boy, I could even see Him in my mind’s eye; always envisioning Him during the Sermon on the Mount. Always sensing His presence – if you’ll pardon the platitudes – in the sunshine and in the rain. As I saw Him in my boy’s mind, He was always there high above the church steeples in the city where I lived and the cities I visited, stretched out enormously across the sky; calling me to do something in the furtherance of His kingdom, always leading me along a path to somewhere, though I never really knew – or thought about – where that path might ultimately lead. Nor was I willing to jump right in and commit to that quest on that path.

Still I knew He was there if-and-when I needed him. I took comfort in this as a boy, gave it a passing awareness as a rebellious teenager, thought more about it as an adventure-seeking young adult, and drew nearer to it (though heavily pulled by the world) through middle-age and beyond.

The story of how I came to know God on a deep, rich, personal level is a story for another time. But for the time being, let’s just say today He is everything to me. And His commandment to me to love Him with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind; and to love my neighbor as myself – though I used to believe that might be somehow burdensome – has proven to be the very thing that has enriched my life beyond all things I have ever known in 50-plus years.

This doesn’t mean my life before surrendering to God wasn’t richly blessed. In many ways it was. And it doesn’t mean there haven’t been trials since surrendering to God’s tugging. There have been. Like all people, my life has been marked by both riches and poverty, huge successes and deep regrets. I have traveled throughout the world. I have known love. I have been blessed with earthly reward. I’ve witnessed miracles (though not seeing them at times for what they were). I’ve suffered material loss, earthly injustice, and tragedy. I’ve been to war. I’ve enjoyed unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and experienced seemingly unbelievable adventures.

In short, I’m just like everybody else in various ways through various similar and dissimilar life experiences. But nothing has come even close to the wellspring of new life and adventure I began experiencing just a few years ago – when being brought to my knees – I surrendered to this irresistible tugging and the commandment from God to love Him with all of my being, and to love my fellow man (and woman) as much as I love myself.

Some of you are no doubt rolling your eyes at what you deem to be this feel-good drivel. But it’s not about feelings or emotionally driven nonsense. This is real.

This truth as well as the quest for a deeper relationship with God and the discoveries made through His Word – through faith, substantive trust, and, yes, a bit of investigative research – are what I will be talking about. And all from my perspective but heavily supported with objective fact, a bit of history, and a few anecdotes with the hopeful end of encouraging all.

– New York Times bestselling editor W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a military analyst, a partner with NATIONAL DEFENSE CONSULTANTS, LLC, and a former U.S. Marine rifleman. An active member of Northeast Presbyterian Church (PCA), he teaches a monthly Bible study at Providence Home Columbia (S.C.), and serves as executive director of Always Faithful Outreach, a Christian ministry that delivers bread and pastries to homeless shelters and missions throughout the Midlands. Visit him at http://uswriter.com.

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