ASK THE PASTOR: WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE IN GOD? ANSWER#4: Once I was talking with a university student about the existence of God. He made it clear that even if he knew beyond any doubt that God exists, he would choose NOT to believe in Him, because, as he said, “I want to live my own life”. He even went so far as to say that, even if such rejection of God resulted in an eternal state of despair and anguish, he would still choose to reject God, because, again, “I want to live my own life”. The irony of this young man’s position makes me very sad. He is honest enough to tell the truth that he would be willing to reject truth in order to live his own life, to in effect be his own god. There are no doubt multitudes of people who aren’t as honest as this student, but who are motivated similarly – They want to be their own gods and live by their own “truths” and moral values. And they don’t want to believe in God, because the implications of His existence would dethrone them from their perches of divinity. By choosing a godless life, they relegate themselves to a life devoid of Truth, of meaning, of any basis for knowing the difference between right and wrong. Rick Warren writes, “It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end” (Purpose Driven Life, p.1Cool. Dr. Hobart Mauer, one-time president of the American Psychological Association, also former professor at both Harvard and Yale said: For several decades we psychologists looked upon the whole matter of sin and moral accountability as a great incubus and acclaimed our liberation from it as epoch making. But at length we have discovered that to be free in this sense, that is, to have the excuse of being sick rather than sinful, is to court the disaster of being lost…In becoming amoral, ethically neutral and free, we have cut the very roots of our being, lost our deepest sense of selfhood and identity, and…we find ourselves asking. “Who am I, what is my identity, what does living mean?” (Sadly, it is my understanding that Dr. Mauer ended his own life.) Here are some compelling reasons why YOU should believe in God: 1. Because God created you to enjoy a love relationship with Himself. He loves you, but you cannot personally experience His love unless you open your life to Him. 2. Because He has designed you with a particular purpose and calling in mind. Most of us want our lives to count; we want to make a difference in this world. Certainly you can make a contribution without God, but you could accomplish so much more if you opened your life to God and allowed Him to empower and equip you for His service. 3. Because life apart from God doesn’t make sense and has no ultimate meaning. Atheist Bertrand Russell said, “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless”. Knowing God satisfies in the deepest sense our need to understand life, ourselves, our origin, our purpose, and our destiny. 4. Because you have spiritual needs that only God can meet—forgiveness, a sense of purpose and identity, restoration of your soul, power from beyond yourself to cope with life’s problems, your need to be loved unconditionally and to know that your life really does matter. Perhaps there are some of you who are reading this article right now who feel something of a vacuum in your hearts, a wistfulness – “If only this were true”. Well, you will never know if it’s true if you aren’t willing to find out. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”, and “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:8,6). Are you hungry to know God? Hungry enough to find out for yourself whether or not God is real? He loves you, even longs for you, and He is waiting for you to open the door, to seek Him out. He has made the first move: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). The ball is in your court. Give us a call.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Nov 2013 21:31:11 +0000
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