Believe

 I went to church Sunday, which is rare for me. The pastor(preacher, reverend, whatever you call him) that normally is there was not, so they had a guest pastor. He was nice, made attempts at being funny, and was a good speaker. I think, if I did go to church regularly, I would much rather have a carousel of pastors, never having the same person speak to us twice in a row. It seems like, in my opinion, there is more freedom in this.
 The speaker was talking about Jonah, the guy who was swallowed by a whale. It was a good sermon, and made sense, as sermons usually do, but the thing that got me was more a sub point to his talk. He brought up John 3:36 which says: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
 He pointed out that, throughout the Bible, there is only one thing that can either condemn you to hell or rasie you up into heaven, and this is it. You have to believe, believe in Gods son. Are there trials and tribulations, are there rules and consequences if those rules are broken, of course. But through it all there is one thread that ties it all together, if you believe in Jesus, and ask his forgiveness, you'll be saved. I never thought of that before, the simplicity of that statement. The rest of his sermon spoke of why Jonah was swallowed by the whale, that he tried to run from what God wanted him to do, to hide from his duty, to leave the path God had set before him. And it was only after he was swallowed by the whale that Jonah accepted the task that he was given.
 So, while I am not highly religious (I doubt I will find myself back at church too soon), I am a believer, and whether these things that are happening in my life are part of the path that I'm suppose to follow, or signs leading me back to that path, I will continue to walk forward, because I believe.