While manning a Red Shield collection point earlier today, I gave a welcoming smile to a donor who slammed me with a unwelcomed comment ~ "You Christians are brain-washed. There's no doubt about it!" Of course, this opened up a lively discussion where I defended my own personal faith to the hilt without making accusatory judgements of my opponent's point of view. To the best of my ability, I explained that faith to me is a matter of the heart and not purely the mind. The faith beliefs I hold dear are a matter of personal choice not forced coercion.
I believe that the Holy Spirit convicts, not coerces. The final choice is ours to make. Faith is not only a decision of the mind, but an action of the heart.
The final result was that we both agreed to disagree. But of this I'm sure ~ I left very much confident that God's way is always the best for me. His will aligns with mine.
Hebrews 11:1 (NASB) ~ "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
