Submitted by Pastor David Shadinger, Rock Port & Watson United Methodist Churches

C.S. Lewis was one of the 20th century’s most influential Christian writers; yet, he started out as an atheist. For him, faith did not begin with emotion. It began with thought. Lewis once described his conversion to Christianity with one word: “Checkmate.” That was also the title of a chapter in his autobiography, Surprised by Joy.

Lewis found the traditional arguments for God and the claims of Christianity unconvincing. However, over time, through reading, reflection, and debate, he discovered something unexpected: his arguments against God were becoming weaker than the arguments for God. Slowly, he felt cornered intellectually. He came to believe that God had used the very reasoning powers he valued most to lead him to faith.

Not everyone comes to faith through the mind. Some experience God first through emotion – perhaps at a revival, a church camp, or during a personal crisis. Others encounter the Spirit through relationships, conscience, suffering, joy, or moments of sudden clarity. Human beings are different, and so are the pathways through which God reaches us.

Consider British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, a lifelong skeptic who once mocked religion from a distance. In his sixties, he received an assignment to produce a documentary about Mother Teresa and her work in Calcutta. Spending time with her changed him. Her compassion and faith exposed the emptiness of his cynicism and awakened what he later called a “longing for God.”

We mortals have several gateways through which the Holy Spirit can reach our innermost being. The Holy Spirit can also enter our lives through our conscience, our relationships with others, painful or joyous moments in our lives, our choices, sudden revelations, and so on. The Holy Spirit still reaches people today – through intellect, emotion, relationships, and the quiet longing of the human heart. Visit a church. Let’s talk.