How Much Proof Do You Want?
The issue of proof is addressed here. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man gets all the good things in life while Lazarus goes hungry outside the rich man's gate. After they both die, the rich man is in torment in Hades while Lazarus is in Heaven with Abraham. The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn the rich man's five brothers so they won't come to this place of torment. Abraham refuses.
""But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.'
" 'No, father Abraham,' he said. 'But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
"But he told him, 'If they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.
Luke 16: 29 - 31
If you are demanding more proof from God than He is willing to give, does that mean he doesn't exist? The issue of proof is probably one of the biggest things that divide people's viewpoints on God.
Interestingly, Christians and atheists both agree that you cannot prove that God does or doesn't exist. So does this mean we have to make up our own minds about God purely from what is in the Bible? Yes and no.
On the 'yes' side, the parable above makes it clear that God isn't likely to suddenly prove anything beyond a shadow of a doubt (until the end of the world - and this will not be a time for choosing, it will be a time when our choices are laid bare for all to see).
On the 'no' side there is one other thing you can do - and that is to ask God. Talk to Him. He may choose to show Himself in some unexpected way. Or He may not. But He will never withhold Himself from someone who is genuinely seeking him:
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 7:6-8
But be sure you don't miss it. Sometimes we only see what we want to see (or what we expect to see - and anything else is incorrectly deemed a failure!) A wise nun once said to our group "He may answer us, but it may not be in the way we expect."
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
""But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.'
" 'No, father Abraham,' he said. 'But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
"But he told him, 'If they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.
Luke 16: 29 - 31
If you are demanding more proof from God than He is willing to give, does that mean he doesn't exist? The issue of proof is probably one of the biggest things that divide people's viewpoints on God.
Interestingly, Christians and atheists both agree that you cannot prove that God does or doesn't exist. So does this mean we have to make up our own minds about God purely from what is in the Bible? Yes and no.
On the 'yes' side, the parable above makes it clear that God isn't likely to suddenly prove anything beyond a shadow of a doubt (until the end of the world - and this will not be a time for choosing, it will be a time when our choices are laid bare for all to see).
On the 'no' side there is one other thing you can do - and that is to ask God. Talk to Him. He may choose to show Himself in some unexpected way. Or He may not. But He will never withhold Himself from someone who is genuinely seeking him:
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 7:6-8
But be sure you don't miss it. Sometimes we only see what we want to see (or what we expect to see - and anything else is incorrectly deemed a failure!) A wise nun once said to our group "He may answer us, but it may not be in the way we expect."
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
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