I mean God as revealed in the Bible. The Triune God. God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. Occasionally (thankfully not often!), especially when I’m hurting and he seems silent, I wonder if all this God-talk is just that—talk. A creation of humans ages ago passed on from generation to generation until we have a “sacred book” all about him. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who sometimes wonders if God is really there!)
On those occasions I return to three realities—two objective, one subjective.
First, the universe.
Random? Chance? When I see photos of the galaxies and read the intricacies of the human body, I shake my head and marvel at the naturalist. I realize then that naturalism is an ideology, not science. So much complexity, so much power, so much beauty. The universe screams, “INTELLIGENT DESIGN!”. And when I look at humans, when I listen to us communicate and love and, yes, even hate, I scream “PERSONAL INTELLIGENT DESIGNER!” The jump from there to God is a mere step. If God doesn’t exist, how then does the universe? Because the universe exists, God does. What I see, taste, touch, hear and smell isn’t just universe, it’s creation at the word of the Creator God the Father through the Son by means of the Spirit. Yes, God really exists!
Second, Jesus’ resurrection.
He never really died? Disciples stole the body? Come on. All such theories on their face are laughable. Twelve disciples suffered martyrdom (and God alone knows how many other believers) refusing to recant their testimony that crucified Jesus the Christ ROSE FROM THE DEAD. As prophesied. According to hundreds. They laid down their lives rather than deny what they had seen with their own eyes and heard with their own ears. Chuck Colson, now with Jesus, pointed out how hard it is to keep a conspiracy quiet. Had the disciples stolen the body, somebody eventually would have snitched. Besides, what happened to the body? If Jesus did rise from the dead, he’s all he claimed to be. The resurrection joyfully shouts, “God really exists”.
Third, the Holy Spirit in my spirit.
This is the subjective reality, a sense, a feeling, an inward witness. John Piper talks about the Bible being self-authenticating. That is, when I seriously read it, it authenticates itself. Something tells my mind and heart that it’s truth. I would call that “self-authenticating” power GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. He makes the written word “come alive” so I know it reveals reality. The same is true when I quiet down to pray and deeply think. There’s an inner sense that God is there. He really exists. I just know that I know. The Bible and the Spirit tell me so.
I could mention more, but these are my three bottom-line realities when painful circumstances whisper to my rational mind, “Maybe God isn’t there after all.” When I hit those bottom-line realities, I bounce back up. All things, then, become possible. Nothing is random or chance. I’m not alone. And no matter the circumstance, he wins in the end—and I do too, because I am his through faith in Jesus his Son, indwelt by his Spirit.
Francis Schaeffer memorably titled one of his books, He Is There and He Is Not Silent. Yes, he is!
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