A FEW months ago, a man wrote to me, questioning the existence of God. He was reacting to an article I had written. According to him, he has since his infancy been trying hard to find God, but he could not. Obviously, there are hundreds of people who share similar atheistic opinion. They say God is just an imaginary being who is mentioned in Jewish and Roman mythology.
Now, is God a myth or mystery? Well, one thing is clear that a person who has been influenced by the teachings of secular scientists and philosophers may doubt the existence of God, but they cannot deny knowledge of God. Yes, a person can know God and yet disbelieve in His existence as a result of influences from college and university education and the devil. Many atheists are victims of these influences. The Bible makes it clear that every human being has knowledge of God instinctively; this is natural knowledge.
“For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invincible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became darkened and confused. Claiming to be wise they became utter fools instead” (Romans 1: 19- 22a, NLT).
Moreover, it is important to explain that from the Christian perspective, a man or woman does not stress himself or herself to find God. Rather, it is God who, out of His abundant overflowing love, finds man. This is why we refute the widespread opinion that Christianity is a religion. Clearly, Christianity is not a religion; it is a love relationship.
And we do not believe in God and have relationship with Him simply because we read about Him in a book, but most importantly we encounter Him personally. The God-man relationship which is often of the heart is very interesting, inspiring and beautiful. What will you say or do when God appears to you in a dream and heals you of a deadly disease which medics tried unsuccessfully to diagnose and treat? I have been sharing the testimony of how God healed me in a dream in 2016. Indeed, God is real and awesome.
Yes, in Christianity, we do not stress ourselves to seek and find God like a lost coin. The Maker of the cosmos is not an unknown being; He is known by all. And He first initiates the move to find and establish a love relationship with us. It is He who first calls us. He appears to people, and speaks to them in dreams, visions and trances. But He commonly speaks to us through fellow men and women He chooses. Remember that God is a Spirit who comes to dwell in and upon men and women He calls to minister to humanity.
It is for this reason, men and women, many of whom are highly educated including medical doctors, journalists, architects, lawyers, pharmacists, accountants, security officers and others who respond to the call of God devote themselves to the preaching and teaching of the living Word of God. Through their ministrations, God actually seeks and finds us. It is when we are called that we are expected to respond and establish relationship with Him. Here, we are encouraged to draw near to Him or go to Him in faith with the understanding that God rewards those who diligently go to Him.
Now, it is not unknown that many people who find it difficult to establish a relationship with God are often distracted by prejudice and intellectualism which create unbelief in their hearts. Other causes of unbelief are by the activity of the devil as he blinds the minds of people to reject the Word of God and persecute the Church.
And we also know that people who reject God do not go unpunished. They are given debased minds to do what ought not to be done. Clearly, a person can be highly educated and be living with a debased mind. That is, a depraved or reprobate mind. This is a punishment for failing to acknowledge God. Consequently, such people indulge in all manner of evils including homosexuality and uttering blasphemies against God. Scoffers and mockers of God and His Church think they are intelligent; they do not realize that there is a depravity in their minds.
“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless….(Romans 1: 28- 32).
However, it is very necessary for us to understand that God is able to grant repentance to those who doubt Him if they turn and accept the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, here, we preachers and teachers of the Word of God are called to do the very thing we preach and teach to others to avoid falling into hypocrisy or unrighteousness.
“You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? …For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’ (Romans 2: 21- 24).
jamesquansah@yahoo.com
FROM James Quansah, Kumasi