“Akhil, why you in this gig?”

“That is a really good question”, is what I said when this question was posed to me during one of my year ending reviews at work. The review was undertaken by one of our team leads who was also responsible for the ‘People’ pillar in our firm. What this meant was one of his responsibilities included helping individuals advance in their career. Even in my career, as a Sustainability Consultant (aka ESD Consultant/ESD Engineer/Sustainability Engineer; we go by many fancy terms), there are many focus areas which I could pursue as I progress further. So, this question was a critical one largely because it got me thinking why I chose this field and what keeps me excited as I continue in this field.

I will try to summarise my ‘why’ in what I penned down couple of years ago when I joined this gig, “I hope one day we’ll get to that perfect world we all love to be a part of. Until then, let us remind ourselves that we are stewards of this beautiful planet and ought to make a conscious effort towards taking care of our fine-tuned and intelligently designed earth. I’m someone who is actively learning and practising sustainable measures within the built environment. Are you?”

I suppose this is a great question when it comes to us believers as well. If I were to ask you, hey why you in this gig? Why are you a Christian? Why do you follow Jesus? As you are reading this, try to respond to these questions. And I know it is hard to give a one-line response to these questions. But we ought to have a response. A clear thought-out response. For any building, the foundation is key, this applies to our faith too. I believe a strong foundation is like an anchor that helps us ground ourselves somewhere rather than floating astray.

Oxford Mathematician, John Lennox says, “If I were to summarise in just a few words why I am a Christian, its because Christ gives me the biggest story to put my life into of any story that there is on offer, in other words, He solves for me the problem of meaning and significance”.

Josh McDowell, who was once an agnostic, (who has now written or co-authored 151 books in 128 languages including ‘More than a Carpenter’ and ‘Evidence that Demands a Verdict’) says, “Finally, I could come to only one conclusion: If I were to remain intellectually honest, I had to admit that the Old and New Testament documents were some of the most reliable writings in all of antiquity. And if they were reliable, what about this man Jesus, whom I had dismissed as a mere carpenter?”

Astrophysicist, Hugh Ross says, “Discoveries in astronomy first alerted me to the existence of God, and to this day the Bible’s unfathomable depths, predictive power, and remarkable applicability to life rank as major reasons for my faith”.

Cold-Case Detective J. Warner Wallace (author of ‘Cold-Case Christianity’, ‘God’s Crime Scene’ and ‘Forensic Faith’) says, “I’m a Christian because it is true. I’m a Christian because I want to live in a way that reflects the truth. I’m a Christian because my high regard for the truth leaves me no alternative”.

These quotes are from a few of my favourite faith heroes of our time. I believe each one of them has an answer to the ‘why’, a strong conviction behind their reasoning because they’ve thought-out their faith. It is equally important because it reminds us why we believe and keeps us ignited as we continue in our faith.

As I conclude, let me ask once again, “why you in this gig?”