In previous articles on how and why I became a Christian, I explained how logic had led me to believe in God and the bible.
In fact, while Christ's existence and purpose are no longer in question to me, I still have trouble making a complete commitment.
What this means is that I have a head knowledge that has yet to become a heart knowledge.
To me, a heart knowledge of Christ is one that involves being possessed by the Holy Spirit -- as shown to me by my daughter's first grade teacher and others I've have met since.
It's a leap of faith that changes everything about the way you think and the way you live your life.
While I consider the way I live my life to be comparable to a person who is possessed by the Holy Spirit, I still don't have that same -- visibly apparent -- feeling that other followers of Christ seem to have.
I will say that over my lifetime there was one instance where I have felt overwhelmed by a "religious" experience, but it quickly subsided when the church service was over.
I can only explain it as something comparable to getting drunk on alcohol.
That's not to say that people possessed by the Holy Spirit, are constantly in an altered state of consciousness.
Rather, they appear to have a peace of mind that allows them to face the tragedies of life with a knowledge that all of life is temporal, and there will be help and justice in the long run.
This apparent peace of mind is baffling to non-believers, and many times it's what draws them to want to understand and have it for themselves.
It's probably why most conversions to the Christian faith are done on a one on one basis, and it's why my daughter's first grade teacher had such a profound effect on me.
At my age -- 73 -- I can't point to one instance of any adult -- that I know -- who hasn't experienced some form of tragedy in their life.
A tragedy might be the death of a loved one, a life threatening sickness, the loss of a girl or boy friend, a failure of some kind, or a financial loss.
While many of these people may come across as having everything going their way, the fact of the matter is they are all suppressing something -- in their own way -- that they are trying to block from their minds.
How many times have you experienced people who can't wait to tell you of their good fortune.
Perhaps they may subconsciously -- or consciously -- feel that by making you feel jealous or bad, they can delude themselves into feeling good at your expense.
Along this line, one case that comes to my mind is a woman -- that I know -- who discovered her friend's husband had been cheating on her.
She couldn't wait to tell her friend about her husband's indiscretion.
I wonder if the woman really felt good after the deed was done, especially after knowing of her friend's grief.
Knowing that tragedy is part of life's journey, why wouldn't any person want to inoculate themselves with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit? While my belief in Jesus the Christ hasn't yet gone from my head to my heart, I'm comforted to know that I've at least reached this point in my life.
Perhaps I'll never be overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit, but I'm not discounting that possibility.
Then again, maybe that aspect of Christianity isn't really necessary.
When I stop to really think about God's wonders -- that I see and experience every day -- I do feel a temporary overwhelming sense of total amazement.
Perhaps the Holy Spirit is trying to reach me, but my rational thinking and fear of appearing brainwashed is creating an impenetrable barrier.
On the other hand, perhaps my ability to reach non-believers is what I was meant to do.
After all, the first step -- for many people -- is to just believe in God, with the next step being to believe in the divinity of Jesus the Christ.
Hopefully these articles about how and why I became a Christian will do it for you.