Dave and Anne met at a travel agency. Dave was buying an airline ticket from Anne, when they got into a conversation that went something like this:
Anne: I’m sorry this is taking so long. I’m so tired I can hardly think! I don’t know which is worse—the illness I’m just getting over, or the medication I’ve been taking for it! It’s going to be a long day!
Dave: I know what you mean about the medicine. Personally, I do a lot better by simply keeping God’s health guidelines in the Bible. Then I can have faith that God will either keep me healthy or heal me if I do get sick.
Anne: Really? That sounds nice, but how can I have faith in God when I don’t even know if there is a God?
Dave: If you want proof of God’s existence, just look around. It reminds me of the answer the world-renowned nuclear physicist Robert Millikan gave a skeptic who asked him how a man of science could believe in God—“Just as behind every watch there had to be a watchmaker, so behind the intricate precision and timing of this great universe there had to be a great Creator or Designer.”
Anne: Well then, how do we know what God looks like? Nobody’s ever seen Him.
Dave: We don’t know what God looks like, because He’s a Spirit. He’s not some old bearded gentleman way off somewhere, but He is the basic power and guiding light of the universe—the all-powerful, all-knowing Spirit that pervades all things. He is everywhere.
Anne: Well, if there is a God, then why is there so much suffering and pain in the world? Why did God allow Hitler and all sorts of other atrocities? Why doesn’t He put a stop to that, if He’s in control?
Dave: First of all, God doesn’t do those things—man does. And if God didn’t allow evil men to carry out their evil plans, then He’d have to put a stop to man’s freedom of choice, which is an important part of His great design. Man was put here to make a choice between good and evil, to do right or wrong. And in the process God gives us the opportunity to learn the benefits of loving Him and keeping the loving rules He has made for our own good.
Anne: I’m sorry this is taking so long. I’m so tired I can hardly think! I don’t know which is worse—the illness I’m just getting over, or the medication I’ve been taking for it! It’s going to be a long day!
Dave: I know what you mean about the medicine. Personally, I do a lot better by simply keeping God’s health guidelines in the Bible. Then I can have faith that God will either keep me healthy or heal me if I do get sick.
Anne: Really? That sounds nice, but how can I have faith in God when I don’t even know if there is a God?
Dave: If you want proof of God’s existence, just look around. It reminds me of the answer the world-renowned nuclear physicist Robert Millikan gave a skeptic who asked him how a man of science could believe in God—“Just as behind every watch there had to be a watchmaker, so behind the intricate precision and timing of this great universe there had to be a great Creator or Designer.”
Anne: Well then, how do we know what God looks like? Nobody’s ever seen Him.
Dave: We don’t know what God looks like, because He’s a Spirit. He’s not some old bearded gentleman way off somewhere, but He is the basic power and guiding light of the universe—the all-powerful, all-knowing Spirit that pervades all things. He is everywhere.
Anne: Well, if there is a God, then why is there so much suffering and pain in the world? Why did God allow Hitler and all sorts of other atrocities? Why doesn’t He put a stop to that, if He’s in control?
Dave: First of all, God doesn’t do those things—man does. And if God didn’t allow evil men to carry out their evil plans, then He’d have to put a stop to man’s freedom of choice, which is an important part of His great design. Man was put here to make a choice between good and evil, to do right or wrong. And in the process God gives us the opportunity to learn the benefits of loving Him and keeping the loving rules He has made for our own good.
Anne: So, if there is a God, where did He come from? Who made Him, and when and where and how long has He been in existence?
Dave: If you knew the answer to those questions, then you’d be God, wouldn’t you? The Bible simply says that God has always been. He is the great “I Am” who lives in the Eternal Now, where there is no past nor future and “time shall be no more.” Now let me ask you a question. How much do you know about electricity?
Anne: Not much.
Dave: Well, you’re not alone. Not even scientists understand it completely. But does that stop you from using electricity?
Anne: Of course not!
Dave: You use it even though you don’t understand it?
Anne: Yes, I just turn on the switch.
Dave: My point exactly. You flip the switch and make the connection, and it works. You benefit from electricity, even though you don’t understand it fully. All you know is, it works. You make contact with the power of electricity, and it does the work for you. And that’s how it is with God. We don’t know where He came from or how He got here, we simply know He does exist and He is here, ever-present, all-knowing and all-powerful—omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. God exists, you may be sure, just like electricity exists, and both of these great powers can do us a great deal of good, even if we don’t fully comprehend them. We can benefit from “turning on the switch” and making contact with God.
Anne: Benefit from God?
Dave: Yes! You just need to make personal contact with the power of God, and He will do the work of bringing joy, health, and happiness to your everyday life. He’ll also give you faith, comfort, and peace of mind.
Anne: Just how do I make this contact?
Dave: You can contact His power through prayer, a spiritual seeking of contact with His Spirit. Just as you flip the switch of your radio and tune in to a certain frequency, so you can make contact with God. And if you do, He will speak to you, both through His written Word and directly to your heart and mind when you pray.
Anne: So you’re saying that I don’t have to understand God in order to believe in Him?
Dave: You got it! We only have to make the connection that lets God’s power into our daily lives. All we have to do is reach out our hand of faith and flip the switch of decision which makes contact and starts the flow of God’s power into our lives to light, guide, warm, feed, provide, protect, work for us, and give us pleasure. Just try Him! You don’t have to know where He came from, just meet Him!
Anne: Okay! I can’t lose by trying, can I?
Dave: That’s right! Don’t try to figure Him out—just let Him in. Try Him!—You’ll love Him! He works, and that’s all you need to know.
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Hebrews 11:3 ESV / By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Colossians 1:16 ESV / For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
John 3:16-17 ESV / “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
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