Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD?

 

            I was reading some comments re: why people refuse to believe in God / Christ? The site I visited was “Quora”, which poses a question & anyone can respond. The first person who chimed in was an atheist, who apparently found it amusing that anyone would believe in a book that was fraught with errors & contradictions. He says that it’s “just a book”. Just because someone says God wrote it doesn’t mean He did. He wanted to see proof; evidence that God exists.

                  The thing that non-believers never get is that having faith has absolutely nothing to do with proof. Is there such a thing as “absolute truth”? I suppose there are some things that are absolutely true, like the sky being up & the ocean being wet. But technically, & now I am admittedly knit-picking, how do we know our accepted definition of ‘up’ & ‘wet’ is correct? How would we know? Whether something is right or wrong becomes interpretive & relative to each person. My definition of ‘normal’ is relative to what I see & how I see it. What I’ve learned in my life has everything to do with how I interpret things. But what of the things I’ve learned? How would I know if that was true or false? It’s based on the belief system I have developed up to this point in my life. 

                  Everyone has faith in something, but what exactly IS faith? The Bible defines it for us: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” [Hebrews 11:1 NIV] Martin Luther King, Jr said this of faith: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines it thusly: “a strong or unshakeable belief in something, especially without proof or evidence.”

                  Faith is not based on sight. Faith doesn’t require evidence, as in proof. There is no proof to be found. Faith is based on choice. Although non-believers would have a problem with the notion that God gives His creation what is referred to as a “free-will choice” to believe in Him and/or accept Him, it is something that HAS to be true. Why? Because a person doesn’t HAVE to believe in God. No one says he does. So all they need to do is either accept or reject the reality of sin. If a person doesn’t believe in sin then how do they explain the proliferation of evil. What makes man evil? What makes them good? Who defines what is evil and what is good. Wouldn’t those definitions have to be universally true? Who would be qualified to define such things? Can it be man? If you DO believe in the existence of God, then could the creation truly know more than its’ Creator? 

                  Does Christianity seem pretty implausible on the surface? Without reading it ... without giving it a chance to speak to you, I can believe that it would sound pretty wild. But that is what faith is for. 

Every choice we make in life comes with consequences. The decision we make will more times than not dictate what the consequences will be. You can go thru life not believing there is a God, because you have that right. What you may not realize is the GOD GAVE YOU THAT RIGHT. There are consequences associated with the decision to dispel the notion that there IS indeed a higher power that exists in spirit form that loves His creation, in fact, loved it so much that to remedy our problem of disobedience He came to live with us to 1) show us HOW to live, 2) be a loving example to follow, & 3) die in our place so that we might live. 

Now you can laugh it off and say Christianity is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard, or you can investigate on your own to see what it’s all about. Your choice. If Christians are all wrong in what they believe and there is no God, then we’ll all die and rot in the ground, never having another conscience thought, thus never knowing if there is a God or not. BUT if Christians are correct in what they believe, those outside the family of God will know of His existence for all eternity. At that point ones fate has been sealed. There will no longer be redemption available for the wayward soul. Your fate is sealed, and YOU were the one who made that decision. God loves you and died for you. Won’t you choose to live for Him. The alternative is eternal and irreversible. 

Ask God to reveal Himself to you thru His Holy Spirit and until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries