Do you remember the commercial where an owl is asked, “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?” He starts counting his licks: “One, Two, Three…” And then CRUNCH, he bites into it, too impatient to wait for the prize in the middle. I laugh every time I see this ad because I can relate!
A question for the parents of toddlers: How many “Whys?” does it take to get to the answer, “Because I said so!”?
A conversation like this takes SIX:
Parent: It’s time to go to sleep.
1 Child: Why?
Parent: Because you need sleep to be healthy.
2 Child: Why?
Parent: Because you want to grow bigger.
3 Child: Why?
Parent: Because that’s how life works.
4 Child: Why?
Parent: Because that’s the way God created us.
5 Child: Why?
Parent: Because the Bible says.
6 Child: Why?
Parent: Because I said so!
Depending on how often you’ve had this conversation, or whether you had grumpy customers at work that day, it might take way more or way less than six to get to “Because I said so!”. And when you’re really frustrated, that final answer comes out even shorter (and louder), just one word – “BECAUSE!”
“Because” in itself is not really an answer to a “Why?” question. The word “Because” is a conjunction, so it is meant to be followed by other words.
How do you answer people when they ask, “Why do you follow Jesus?” Does it often feel like explaining something invisible or incomprehensible, and at some point, you land on the answer “Because”?
Early in my Christian walk, my answer to this question would have been something like this: It seems like the right thing to do. Something about following Jesus made sense in my head; the stories of Jesus and the words in the Bible appealed to my brain. I had fond memories of Sunday School from my early childhood. I enjoyed going to church, singing hymns, and being a part of a Christian community.
But one day my answer changed….
I was driving to work, only about two miles from arriving at the office, listening to the radio. The song “Because You Loved Me” performed by Celine Dion (written by Diane Warren) came on. This ballad had been playing on the radio for several years by this point, and I knew it well. I had heard it many times, especially at weddings for the couple’s first dance, or for the father/daughter and mother/son dance.
But something was different this time.
As the first words “For all those times you stood by me, for all the truth that you made me see” hung in the air, a shiver went down my spine. Then, goosebumps appeared on my arms as I heard “For all the joy you brought to my life, for all the wrong you made right”.
Something way bigger than listening to a popular song on a car radio was happening.
I felt a surge, a tidal wave, building in my body just as I pulled into the parking lot and quickly put the car into park. The words of the chorus shot straight to my heart: “You were my strength when I was weak, you were my voice when I couldn’t speak, you were my eyes when I couldn’t see, you saw the best there was in me…”
Images of Christ appeared in my head. Memories from my past – both the happy ones and the painful ones – passed in front of my eyes, and in each one, Jesus was standing by my side. The tears started flowing when the song’s title reached my ears: “I’m everything I am because you loved me.” At that moment I realized that all the love I had experienced in my life existed because God loved me first.
I let the next verse cover me like a warm blanket on a snowy winter’s day, while the salty tears continued to stream down my cheeks:
You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You’ve been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you
With the next chorus, I fervently sang along with an out-of-tune and trembling voice. I couldn’t hold in the love and joy reverberating throughout my body. As the song came to an end, my heart was changed. God had seized it.
Now I use the words from 1 John 4:19 as the answer to the question “Why do you follow Jesus?” (paraphrased):
I love and follow Jesus because God first loved me.
Apostle Paul, the writer of the book of Ephesians, would put it this way (paraphrashed):
But because of his great love for me, God, who is rich in mercy, made me alive with Christ even when I was dead in transgressions—it is by grace I have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5
My mentor Jesus demonstrated this same “Because” when he prayed to His Father:
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” John 17:24
I realize to some, my answer might not make sense. No matter how thoroughly and creatively I tell this story, words are inadequate, words fail me. But that doesn’t make the moment any less real or any less transformational to me. This is my story to tell, my song to sing, my prayer to whisper:
Father, because you loved me…
Amen.