Craig Clouston

 The Three Whys

                                                August 20

No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

“Okay, Mr. Know-It-All,” Marvin challenged. “What makes you so sure you have the right answers? I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but what makes your beliefs right and mine wrong?” The heat was evident in his tone.

“Marvin,” Chris began softly. “I don’t have all the answers, and you are right sometimes. But when it comes to those three questions, there is truth, and there are lies. I believe each of us is faced with a choice: believe and follow Jesus or reject Him and spend eternity in hell.”

“Yeah, I got that!” There was no give in Marvin. “Your belief says that God is where I came from, God is why I’m here, and God wants me to know where I’m going!” Sarcasm dripped from his words. “So,” Marvin goaded, “God is the answer to everything!”

“Marvin, just because you choose not to believe in God doesn’t make Him nonexistent. The proof is all around you.” Chris had a thought. “Take gravity, for instance,” he baited. “You can say you don’t believe in it. Yet, if you were to put your belief to the test from the top of a ten-story building, your belief wouldn’t keep you from dying.”

“No one’s stupid enough to do something that ignorant when the proof is so apparent,” Marvin interjected.

“Right!” Chris said. “Seeing makes it easy to believe. But faith believes without undisputable proof,” Chris finished.

“Well, until I have proof of God’s existence, I’m not buyin’ it!” The conversation died an uncomfortable death.

†

God created us for a relationship with Him. His desire is that we choose to spend eternity with Him.

And the world hates Him for it. They can’t abide His conditions that we accept the sacrifice of His Son on Calvary’s cross as the propitiation for our sinful living, asking His forgiveness, and turning from sin.

They revile and reject God’s one-way atonement, demanding, “How can a benevolent Father make such a demand?”

And to that there’s only one answer: Jesus died to present us faultless before God.

Whether we choose to believe Him or not has no relevance to the truth.

Prayer

“Lord, use me to help others see the truth in You. Amen.”