If God was real and if God wanted everyone to believe in him, than God would simply make his existence very clear to the whole world. All God would need to do is stage some kind of event, make some kind of announcement or simply Tweet. Any of these steps would, without a shadow of a doubt, prove, once and for all, that God is real. This line of thinking continues and acknowledges that since God doesn’t take this kind of action, it is proof that God isn’t real. Thus, following further along this line of thinking, the reason people don’t believe in God is that God hasn’t made the reality of himself crystal clear to everyone.
Do you buy this? Do you think that everyone would believe if today, God pulled back the sky, stuck his head into our atmosphere for all to see and announced that he was God? Is it truly that simple? And if it is truly that simple, why hasn’t God done something just like this? The cold, hard truth is that it isn’t that simple and God knows it. This is exactly why God hasn’t done it.
You doubt this reasoning? Well, let’s take a look at some recent realities. There is currently a large number of people who do not believe the validity of our last presidential election. Even though, as a country, we have been successfully holding Presidential elections for the last 233 years. Even though court after court has ruled that there was no fraud. Despite all of this evidence, contrary to the notion of a rigged election, there are still people who believe the election was stolen. So much so that the most militant of these believers, at least the most militant who had the means to make it to Washington D.C. last week, staged an insurrection and stormed the halls of our nation’s capital. Do you think people, of which a large number still believe in a rigged election, despite all of the counter evidence, would actually be willing to believe in God, even if he showed up today?
How about the pandemic? It is a fact that this disease is highly contagious. Even though it might not be dangerous for some, it is down-right deadly for others. It is also a fact that the simple step of wearing a mask will not only help to keep individuals safe, it will help protect the most vulnerable around us. Do you believe that people, even in the face of this truth, who refuse to wear a mask in public, because it is a violation of their personal rights – nobody can tell me what to do – would be willing to believe in God even if he showed up today?
It might go without saying, but I am going to say it any way – How about Jesus? God came and dwelt among us as one of us. Jesus, who is God in human form, was born in Bethlehem, lived for thirty-three years and then died on a Roman cross in Jerusalem some 1,988 years ago. Since then millions upon millions have surrendered their lives in faith to Jesus. Countless others have lost everything, including their lives, defending and living their faith, in the face of desperation and persecution. The Bible is the best selling book year after year. It has been a number one best seller for so long that no published list even includes it anymore. Yes, the current New York Times Best Seller is truly #2 on the list. And yet, there are still people out there who claim that if God would just show up and make himself known to everyone, than everyone would believe. Do you buy it?
We are a fickle bunch. Thus, none of us should be surprised when people don’t believe in our political or judicial system. Nobody should be surprised when personal rights and perspectives trump the truth and the greater good. We shouldn’t be surprised when people don’t believe in medical science or even Biblical truth, because, after all, it isn’t that simple and God knows it.