Born Into It. But You Can Choose Your Faith.

Choosing Your Faith

If God loved us before the foundations of the earth, why is it up to us to accept that love? Why do we have to choose what He has already offered? And why would someone be condemned for refusing a love they cannot fully understand?

God left it as a choice, but is it fair to judge those who struggle to accept what they have never known? Even those of us who are in Christ do not always fully understand what we have received through Him.

If someone like me, who was born and raised in a Christian home, is still trying to understand God’s grace and love, can we truly blame those who grew up never hearing about Him?

This question bothers me because where we are born is not something we choose. God allows each of us to enter this world in different places, families, cultures, and circumstances. Scripture tells us that God’s purposes prevail (Proverbs 19: 21). So then, is it a mistake for someone to be born into a different faith tradition, whether Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or another belief system?

If God is sovereign and all-powerful, why not determine our origins in a way that gives everyone the same starting point? Why not place everyone in the same environment and with the same understanding before we enter this world?

But that is not how life happens. We arrive with much of our understanding already shaped by the places and people we are born into. Before we can think, question, or choose, we are introduced to the beliefs of our families and communities. Prayers are spoken over us.

Traditions are practiced around us. Values are taught to us. All of this happens while we are still unaware, waiting to enter the world.

Then we arrive.

We are taught what our loved ones believe. We are guided by the faith, culture, and experiences that surround us. We did not choose our starting point; it was given to us. As we grow older, some people begin to question, some deepen their faith, and others search for something different.

Then there are those who are never introduced to faith at all. At some point, they encounter the gospel and are asked to consider something completely new. They are invited into a relationship with God without the same foundation that others may have received from childhood. As Christians, we believe the Holy Spirit is the One who convicts and guides people as they respond to God.

While writing this, I was tempted to discuss whether we can know with complete certainty that one religion is better than another. Every person has experiences, evidence, traditions, and encounters that shape what they believe. These things influence how we understand the world and where we place our faith.

But even as Christians, we experience moments of uncertainty. There are days when I question God, when I wonder where He is, and when trusting Him feels difficult. I believe this is part of the human experience. Faith, by its nature, requires trust in what we cannot fully see.

Absolute certainty is something we often desire but rarely possess. This is why faith matters. We choose to believe even when we cannot see everything clearly. Sometimes it is difficult to look beyond the physical and trust the spiritual. Yet we continue because we were created with a longing for something beyond ourselves.

As people from different backgrounds, denominations, and beliefs searching for meaning beyond this life, none of us has the answer humanity is looking for. Pointing at one another, judging one another, and trying to determine another person’s worth does not bring us closer to the truth.

I do not believe God created us to spend our lives condemning one another. We are called to love because we were first loved by Him. This is the command Christ gave us. Without love, our lives become a constant attempt to prove that we are right and others are wrong — something we cannot do with perfect understanding.

When I think about all the countries and places I could have been born into, I see myself as a small piece of a much larger puzzle. But every piece matters. Without you or me, the picture is incomplete.

So whether our faith looks the same or different, our responsibility is to give what we have been given: love, compassion, kindness, and grace. I do not know how this piece ended up talking about peace and togetherness. That was not where I thought it would go when I started writing. But maybe that is the point.

When we truly begin to understand God’s love, we become less focused on proving ourselves and more focused on loving others. Because the God who loved us before we knew Him calls us to love one another.

© 2026 Sabina Kumi. 

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"Choosing your faith is one of the most personal journeys a person can take, shaped by everything you have lived and everyone who has loved you."

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