Before I ever set out to learn about the Bible and Jesus and Christ, I had a very cynical view of Christianity. To me, Christians were a bunch of people filled with blind and unfounded faith in a series of myths created by man to control them. Then something happened. One verse happened. I would have said I stumbled upon it, but I now know in hindsight that God led me to it. That verse was 1 Thessalonians 5:21. It says:
“Test everything. Hold on to the good.” [1 Thessalonians 5:21]
Nestled snuggly between verses about not quenching the Holy Spirit or despising prophecies and abstaining from every form of evil were seven words that forever changed the course of my life. Here was a belief system which I assumed was based on a blind leap of faith, and instead God says, “Challenge Me! Put me to the test!” Indeed, we serve a big God and he, and his book, have withstood that test for thousands upon thousands of years.
It was not the verse that led me to Christ, but God used it to jumpstart the process. Verses like 1 Thessalonians and 1 John 4:1:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. [1 John 4:1]
They challenged what I thought Christianity was and invited me to “test everything.” That process has led me to a deeper and more sustainable faith. That process is what God used to draw me to himself. In short, one of the reasons I believe the Bible is because it calls us to test it, and it passes with flying colors every single time!