Do we have PROOF that God exists?
Can anyone really KNOW that God is real?
If there is evidence, WHAT is it?
I’m sure you’ve probably heard one of those questions before. The inability to prove God seems to be a common cause for disbelief.
A few days ago I was traveling, heading home for Christmas from CO to my family in PA. I was tired, due to staying up until 3am the night before, and I really just wanted to sleep during the four hour flight. But I heard myself start to pray “God would you give me an opportunity to reach out to my neighbor on this flight”. I almost tired to take that prayer back and reminded God that I was tired and that sleeping would be beneficial to my health.
I sat down in my middle of the row seat and took note of my neighbors.
To my right was a young man around my own age with his head phones in and a plastic toy airplane in his hands… interesting. He was sending the “leave me alone” signal loud and clear as he plastered himself against the window as far from me as he could get.
On my other side was a middle aged man, ready to enjoy the flight with a magazine for later on.
I pulled my head rest against my noggin on both sides, ready to pass out.
But the Lord reminded me of my prayer, and half reluctantly I attempted to strike up a conversation with the man on my left.
“So are you heading home for Christmas”?
That was all the encouragement Don needed. He went right to town filling me in on his mom he was going to visit. Then his life in Colorado and the construction business he runs. I was informed of his love for mountain biking, and his political involvement.
We had a very interesting conversation.
Don is a generally good man, he see’s our culture and our young people heading down the path of destruction, and wants to help bring a change. He talked about people needing to join together and care more about others. He shared how he’s seen a steady decline over the past 30 years or so.
As he was talking I’d chime in here and there. I asked Don what his plan for our nation would be if he had the authority and ability to make a difference.
While listening to his response I couldn’t help but think that he wanted to put God back in the schools and have a society that follows Biblical principles.
I asked Don if he thought that maybe the decline in our schools could be due to the removal of Christian teaching and morals, and the replacement of Evolutionary ideas and morals.
And as a quick deviation from my current story, yes Evolution does teach morals, aka survival of the fittest. Humans and worms all evolved from the same “nothingness” and therefore have no more rights then the other. Without God given worth we are all but animals, evolving and trying to survive no matter who we hurt. According to the evolutionary teaching life is about me because I am my own God. Without God humanity gives account to no one.
Don and I talked about how our society is following what it’s been being taught from a young age. I shared how I believe that what is missing in our world is the fear of God. We need to get back to the basics, Matthew 22:37-39, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
I wish I could type out my whole conversation with Don for you. But that would be a 3 hour read and I doubt most of you would care to stare at my blog for that long.
Don does not believe in God. His words to me were, “I do not believe in God because I have never seen Him. I would only believe in God if you could prove Him to me and then it wouldn’t be believing in Him it would be a case of knowing because I couldn’t deny His existence”.
I told Don that I could not PROVE God’s existence to him. Oh how I wish I could, I wanted Don to know the love of the Father.
Don had shared with me how his own earthly father had been an angry alcoholic. Every night he would hear his parents yelling and fighting with one another. The only thing that would stop their fighting was his father passing out from his drunken state. One day Don’s father walked out of a bar and stood in front of oncoming train, ending his own life.
Don’s only experience with those who believe in God was with his older brother who had married a Jehovah’s Witness. His brother, after trying to convert Don to his new found belief, shut Don out of his life because they couldn’t agree.
After telling me the story of how his brother had rejected and ostracized his unbelieving family, Don thanked me for talking to him and not hating him for disagreeing with me.
That almost brought tears to my eyes. Of course I didn’t hate him, the whole purpose in me talking to him was because I loved him. I told him this and that I was concerned for his eternal welfare, but that he was loved by both me, and the God He doesn’t believe in.
I never did prove God’s existence to Don, nor will anyone else ever accomplish that impossible feat.
I wish I could say that Don’s heart was softened and he accepted Jesus as his savior on that airplane. But again, that did not happen.
I will never forget Don, and I hope he will not be able to forget me, and the Jesus I asked him to consider.
No one can prove God’s existence. God desires and requires our faith. But there are facts that we can use as evidence in the case for a Creator God. And I want to research and know those facts so that next time I meet a “Don” I can share the evidence and not just allude to it being out there.
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I wrote this blog post 4 years ago.
I have since created a group on face book called “Why I Believe What I Believe” to be an informed believer myself and help others answer the questions people like Don ask.
I am also going through a Free course by Jim Wallace called “Please Convince Me“
Please check either my group or the Free course out!
