Day 2

“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.”

—ROMANS 1:20

When I first began preaching in England, I often went into schools and would sometimes talk to the students about the existence of God. I would tell the class that people fell into one of three categories; a believer, an atheist, or an agnostic (which is one who doesn’t know).

I would then draw a big circle on the blackboard and tell the students to imagine that all the knowledge in the universe was contained within that circle. How much of that total knowledge would one person have? Not much! Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, was once asked how much he knew, and he replied, “I do not know one hundredth part of one percent of anything.” That’s a claim of less than .001 percent. For the sake of this illustration, let’s top Einstein and imagine each of us possesses one percent of all the knowledge in the universe. Within the big circle, I drew a much smaller circle, which represented that one percent of knowledge. Assuming it to be true that we all had 1% of total knowledge, I asked the question: Is it possible that God could exist within the 99 percent you don’t know?

To be an atheist and say with certainty, “There is no God,” you would have to know 100 percent of all the knowledge there is in the universe. What an atheist is actually saying is, “In my one percent of knowledge, I don’t see any evidence that convinces me of the existence of God.” The agnostic says, “In my one percent of knowledge, I don’t know either, but I’m willing to say He may exist in the 99% of which I know nothing.” That’s a much more sensible position. The believer says, “In my one percent of knowledge I have found God and experienced God.” It is totally reasonable to be a believer. You don’t have to answer every scientific question. You just have to know that God is, because of the evidence you have received, you’ve come to know Him and experience Him.

In reality, it’s impossible to be an atheist, and it’s unnecessary to be an agnostic, because although you might legitimately say, “I don’t know God,” God is there to be known. That’s the whole message of Scripture. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). It isn’t intellect that enables us to know God, but the disposition of our hearts. Every human being is genetically wired towards God, because we were created to know Him. To anyone who seeks, He is there to be found.

PRAYER: Lord, You made the universe and all life within it. My prayer is for everyone to seek You and be reconciled to their Creator.

TO REFLECT UPON: What experiences have I had of God that gives me absolute confirmation of His existence?