There are certain “Truths” in life; in the human physical world, the natural world, the animal kingdom etc.. Things that we as people believe regardless of the lack of immediate proof or obvious rationality of these particular truths. Things like gravity for instance. We don’t need to see it or touch it to understand the concept. Why? Because we can see the effects of gravity when something is dropped off of a building. Because Sir Isaac Newton wrote the law of gravity, which is a mathematical explanation for the way that things attract based on experiments and observations. This is just one of many “truths” that we believe on a daily basis throughout our everyday lives.
We believe that we are pregnant when the pregnancy test shows a little pink plus sign. Why? How can anyone be so sure? When we have a blood test and the doctor confirms the urine test, did the doctor himself see the baby inside the mother at 3 weeks? Can mom feel the movements at this early stage? No, but somewhere, someone has defined the test and identified what the proof is. We all believe it completely until we can see/feel the baby ourselves. That takes a lot of faith.
We believe the Oncologist when he says, “You have cancer, you probably have 6 -8 months left”. Wow, that’s huge! Not only do we believe the man in the lab coat, but we submit to an insupportable gamut of tests and life altering treatments. Why? Can we see the cancer? Can the doctor be sure beyond any doubt that chemotherapy and radiation will save or even extend our lives? No. But we trust in the “evidence”, previous tests, personal testimony from survivors, scientific proof based on lab experiments we don’t understand or can even prove have been successfully performed. That’s a lot of faith required to make it through the negative side effects of cancer treatment.
We believe that healthy eating, exercise and rest will keep us healthy. How can we be so sure? How do we KNOW that healthy people are healthy because of their diet and exercise choices? Don’t we believe it to be true because we can examine their lives and see that when they adhere to a strict regime of healthy eating and activity their overall health improves? And don’t movies like “Supersize Me”, give us physical evidence to suggest that daily eating of “junk food” causes a definite deterioration of one’s physical health?
Given these specific situations that require a faith response even without absolute proof, why then, is it so hard to believe that there is a God? Why do so many people continue to maintain that belief in a Creator is so far-fetched? The truth isn’t really THAT hard to grasp and the resulting joy that comes is SO SO worth it! The truth is this; that Humans are born sinners in need of a savior and therefore are separated from the Holy God. And that God’s son (Jesus Christ) came as the solution to that problem, because God loves us TOO MUCH to let us stay separated from Him?
Can’t we apply the same deductive reasoning and faith required to believe the aforementioned “truths” to the issue of Christianity? For example, there is overwhelming evidence that there is a God. There are the cliche proofs like sunsets and rainbows and inexplicable medical miracles. And then there are things like the human body, which doctors can only treat and analyze but are incapable of really explaining. There’s the universe itself, although scientists have attempted to form an “explanation” for the origins of the universe aka The Big Bang Theory, ultimately they still can’t explain where the original atoms that “crashed together” came from. The Big Bang Theory is in fact just a theory which cannoth be proven nor is it a concise reasoning for what it’s proponents claim that it explains, that is the spontaneous birth of the universe without a creator.
I find it interesting that people who claim to not believe in a God at all, use the reasoning that it requires too much faith to believe in God or Jesus. That the doctrines of Christianity are absurd and irrational. I think it’s easier to believe than you think. The world is full of evil and evidences of the effects of sin on humanity. There are millions of people every day all over the world who can show you how their faith in Christ has transformed their lives, freed them from pain, suffering and addictions. God has blessed them and enabled them to overcome incredible obstacles in life. Millions of people over hundreds and hundreds of years have lived and died praising the Glory of God. Doesn’t it require an incredible amount of faith to believe that SO many people could be ignorant or duped by a lie.
Many many people have tried to squash the church, eradicate Christians and destroy the Bible which is God’s Living Word, and yet it remains to this day the number one selling book of all time. In an age where the world tells us to look out for number one why would people still travel to far off lands and risk their lives to tell total strangers about Jesus? Because they know it to be true. They know the meaning of life. People need to be restored to the Lord, they need a saviour. Sin has separated us from God and His holiness. The only answer is Jesus. He died for us, in our place, and He ROSE AGAIN, conquering death! All we have to do is recognize that we are sinners in need of a saviour, accept the free gift and dedicate our lives to Him. Life in Christ isn’t always easier, but it’s SO MUCH BETTER.
There are so many things that require our unquestioning faith on a daily basis, why is this incredibly life-altering promise so difficult to believe?
July 31, 2011
Lola
