One of the most fundamental questions of life has
been, “Is there really a God?” How many times in your life when things were
not going well and you not only doubted God’s love, but you questioned His very
existence? I would argue that not only
does God exist but there is evidence for that fact.
In the Bible, the existence of God is not explained, it
is simply taken for granted. In Genesis
1:1 we are told, “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.”
Here we see an incredible statement that is both simple and
profound. Notice that it declares that
God is, and that He is the Creator of
the universe. And then we read that
nature demonstrates a creator and that God reveals enough of Himself in the
world for people to know Him. Psalm 19:1 states that, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of
his hands.” Also in Romans 1:20 the Apostle Paul tells us, “For since the creation of the world God's
invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly
seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Does science point toward God
or away? I think it points toward God
for numerous reasons. In the
physical universe itself, God has given many evidences of His own
existence. The deeper that our 21st
century science reaches into the secrets of the universe, the more unreasonable
it becomes to suggest that all this came into existence without a designer. No one would ever suggest that a space shuttle
could fly into space, orbit the earth, and then land at an exact place and time
without the combined creative genius of designers, technicians and
mathematicians. Likewise, sunsets and
seasons, galaxies and atoms, the force of gravity and the power of love could
never exist without the planning and design of a Creator God.
I am convinced that the cosmos
of space, time, and matter had a beginning and that something outside the
cosmos and, in a sense, supernatural, with power of free choice brought it into
existence. I am persuaded that different
forms of the design argument provide justification for belief in God. I am particularly impressed by the
fine-tuning of the universe, the information content and so-call specified
complexity in biological organisms.
Research in astrophysics
revealed that certain conditions would have to be present for the possibility
of life to exist. These conditions are
referred to as cosmic constants.
These conditions must be present within an extremely narrow margin. Given any composition of matter outside these
extremely narrow parameters, no life could be produced. If the electromagnetic force were slightly
stronger or weaker, life in the universe would be impossible. Then there’s the difference between the mass
of neutrons and protons. Increase the
mass of a neutron by about one part in seven hundred and nuclear fusion in
stars would stop. There would be no
energy source for life.
Even the atheist Stephen
Hawkins has calculated that if the rate of the universe's expansion one second
after the “Big Bang” had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand
million million, the universe would have collapsed into a fireball. [i] Stop and ask
yourself, when you see the birth of a child, or seasons changing how could this
all be created by a "big bang?" There has to be more to life than this. The human body is so complex, we could not
have begun as just a small, one celled organism. It is just not possible.
The Christian faith is not a blind faith as some think it
is. My path to faith did not come by
reading an essay presenting rational arguments for God’s existence and love. My faith in God came after I knew with my mind
and felt in my heart that something was not right with the world and something
was not right with me. As a tiny
creature in a vast universe I was calling out for answers, answers that
mattered more than the next paycheck or ballgame. To my surprise, God came to me through His
Word. The message of the prophet Isaiah
describes God’s action in my life:
“In that day the
deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes
of the blind will see. Once more the
humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of
Israel.” (Isaiah 29:18-19)
All the arguments of the finest philosophers will never
lead the skeptic to know God until he realizes he’s deaf, blind, meek, and
poor. I was once deaf but now I hear the
words of a book, I once was blind but now I see. By God’s grace, I believe in a God whom I
cannot see, at least not yet.
[i]
Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time (1996
edition), page 126
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you
to know Him, and experience
an amazing change in your own life.
Discover how you can find peace
with God.
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