This week in the Cave, Pat P., our wonderful substitute Sunday school teacher, asked us a hard question about faith.
How do we know that God exists?
Most of us would answer that we just do. We don't know how we know. We just feel it.
A large part of our faith is feeling the Holy Spirit as it moves through our lives. There are events in our lives that we can't explain except through faith. Most of us believe in miracles, and these miracles, both big and small, are some of the ways we recognize God as He works through us.
The most common way to explain God's presence to children is to ask them who made the trees, the sky, and the other wonders of the Earth. Life on Earth and all our world's scenery is so vast and beautiful that it only makes sense that someone had to create it, like a talented artist painting a canvas.
Another way to explain how we know God exists is to think about the complexity of the world God created. Think about DNA and the individual molecules that make up all things. Think about the way each being on Earth is perfectly made and suited to its environment and the way Earth is tilted at a perfect angle and spins at the perfect distance from the Sun. The universe may have been created by the Big Bang, but who set the ball in motion? The universe is too complicated to have come into existence on its own. God had to have created it. No other explanation makes as much sense.
And finally, there's the anthropological perspective on how we know God exists. Every group and nationality of people, every culture and civilization on Earth, has a creation tale and a higher being that they worship. This proves that humans have a "prayer drive," the instinctive knowledge that there is indeed a presence in the world that is greater than us. Even if they didn't have the knowledge that we do, that the higher presence is God, they know that they do have a need to worship. We know that God exists because humanity feels His presence.
How do we know that God exists?
A lot of it depends on personal experience. We can all recall a time when we knew God was in our lives; we've all had a "God moment." Most of us have also had a conversion experience. Every single one of us has a story to share with those who have questions for us about The Lord.
It's important to remember that those who want to believe will believe, and those who don't want to believe will have their eyes shut and may even have their hearts hardened against us. But it's vital that we continue to answer questions and share our stories, because we are disciples, and our task is to bring people to The Lord.
What's your story?
Have a great week!
How do we know that God exists?
Most of us would answer that we just do. We don't know how we know. We just feel it.
A large part of our faith is feeling the Holy Spirit as it moves through our lives. There are events in our lives that we can't explain except through faith. Most of us believe in miracles, and these miracles, both big and small, are some of the ways we recognize God as He works through us.
The most common way to explain God's presence to children is to ask them who made the trees, the sky, and the other wonders of the Earth. Life on Earth and all our world's scenery is so vast and beautiful that it only makes sense that someone had to create it, like a talented artist painting a canvas.
Another way to explain how we know God exists is to think about the complexity of the world God created. Think about DNA and the individual molecules that make up all things. Think about the way each being on Earth is perfectly made and suited to its environment and the way Earth is tilted at a perfect angle and spins at the perfect distance from the Sun. The universe may have been created by the Big Bang, but who set the ball in motion? The universe is too complicated to have come into existence on its own. God had to have created it. No other explanation makes as much sense.
And finally, there's the anthropological perspective on how we know God exists. Every group and nationality of people, every culture and civilization on Earth, has a creation tale and a higher being that they worship. This proves that humans have a "prayer drive," the instinctive knowledge that there is indeed a presence in the world that is greater than us. Even if they didn't have the knowledge that we do, that the higher presence is God, they know that they do have a need to worship. We know that God exists because humanity feels His presence.
How do we know that God exists?
A lot of it depends on personal experience. We can all recall a time when we knew God was in our lives; we've all had a "God moment." Most of us have also had a conversion experience. Every single one of us has a story to share with those who have questions for us about The Lord.
It's important to remember that those who want to believe will believe, and those who don't want to believe will have their eyes shut and may even have their hearts hardened against us. But it's vital that we continue to answer questions and share our stories, because we are disciples, and our task is to bring people to The Lord.
What's your story?
Have a great week!
No comments:
Post a Comment