thefourthbrother: the average one

So you want proof? April 9, 2012

Have you ever read an article or news story and then afterwards skipped past all the ads to read the comments? I frequently do this because I am easily amused. It is rare to find comments that are all in favor of the author’s premise, regardless of the evidence listed to support that premise, because the world is full of individuals that are just down right contrary. It matters not the subject, evidence, witnesses or repercussions, there is someone out there who will refuse to believe. You could write a story about a subject that you know better than anyone else, and there are those who will disagree.

Men walked on the moon. There is video and photographic evidence for this yet there are people who don’t believe it.

The single cell reveals within itself such marvelous precision and design, putting the lie to gradual change from beneficial mutation, yet there are those who refuse to see it as the product of design but only of happy accidents.

Man is higher than all creatures on the earth, with brain functions that science still cannot fathom, yet there are those who refuse to believe we are nothing more than animals.

They scream for proof while standing on the very proof they seek. It is willful blindness.

The Lord Jesus Christ dealt with this same mentality during his 3 year ministry. The Bible tells us he healed literally thousands of people from all manner of disease and deformity, cast out demons during an unprecedented surge of this activity, and raised people from the dead. Yet in the end it was not enough because some still refused to believe in him. They said they wanted proof but usually said this after witnessing Jesus perform a miracle never before seen by anyone.

The children of Israel refused to believe in God even after walking across an ocean on dry ground. Apparently walls of sea water towering over their head wasn’t enough to persuade them.

Today people are no different. They refuse to believe the Bible is the Word of God when the evidence for its authenticity is greater than any other literary work. They refuse to believe in a Creator when time and time again they are faced with a natural world that does not operate randomly nor did it appear by accident. As a born again Christian I can tell you how Jesus changed my heart and the reason I choose to live my life in service to him and sharing His Gospel is because of that very real change – yet I will be scoffed at and ridiculed as a lunatic by the very people trapped in destructive lifestyles that my salvation keeps me from living. They refuse to believe.

The reason is not that they really want proof – there is plenty of that to go around – the reason is that they hate God.

People refuse to believe in a Creator God who sent His only Son to die on cross for their rebellion against Him, a rebellion that leads to their destruction, because they hate Him.

Sadly I believe Hell will be populated with untold numbers of people who in spite of their torment and intimate knowledge of their sin will spend eternity hating God even more.

This I cannot comprehend.

I thank God that I was introduced to His Gospel and was given the opportunity to say YES to His offer of free salvation through the blood of Jesus. Does he always answer my prayers?  No. Do I struggle with problems in my life and missed opportunities? Yes. Do I blame God and hate him for my problems? No. Because I know what I deserve. Because of my sin and rebellion against God’s holiness, I deserve to be eternally punished. God is holy and perfect. His very nature does not allow sin in His presence. I know I can’t be in His presence as I am. I belong in Hell.

Yet Jesus loved so much, he shed His blood for me. It was the only thing that would satisfy God’s anger and hate for sin. Jesus took upon Himself my sin and He endured God’s punishment towards my sin. I cannot be anything but humbled and thankful for that. Because of His sacrifice for me, I believe. He did the same for you; for all people.

I do not need proof. I do not need to see physical signs of His work in my life. I have all the proof I need: my changed heart. I am well aware of the life I could be living were it not for Christ. I am thankful that I don’t have to live that way.

Those who refuse to believe would never believe anyway, even if they received proof. Their hate for God overrides everything else. It is not that they cannot be saved, it is that they will not be saved. Hearts of stone.

Those who really don’t know, who want to find the truth and are still searching, they can be saved. They will be saved; if they only believe.

Ironically, those who believe in the salvation work of Christ on the cross, will receive the gift of eternal life without ever having any proof, while those who refuse usually have more proof than anyone else.