Big questions
How can I know God is real?
Nobody can prove God as you would prove a sum. But Christians point to strong reasons for believing: the existence of the universe, our sense of right and wrong, our longing for something more and, above all, Jesus. God also promises that those who seek him will find him.
The universe
Why is there something rather than nothing? The universe had a beginning, it runs on elegant mathematical laws, and its basic conditions are balanced within very narrow limits that allow life to exist. Many people find it more reasonable to see a mind behind all that than to call it an accident.
The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.
For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
Right and wrong
Almost everyone believes that some things, such as cruelty to a child, are really wrong, and not merely unfashionable or inconvenient. It is hard to explain where that kind of moral reality comes from if the universe is only matter and energy. It makes sense if there is a good God who made us.
Longing
People in every culture have reached for something beyond themselves. We sense that we were made for more than getting and spending, and nothing in this world quite satisfies. Augustine, a North African bishop writing sixteen centuries ago, prayed that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. Christians think that the hunger points to real food.
Jesus
These pointers suggest that there is a God. They cannot tell us what he is like. The central Christian claim is that God has not left us guessing. He has shown himself in a human life that can be examined.
No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
For this reason the best place to look for God is not in an argument but in the Gospels. Read what Jesus said and did, weigh the evidence for his resurrection, and ask yourself who he was.
Why doesn’t God make himself more obvious?
If God only wanted us to admit that he exists, he could write it across the sky. Christians believe he wants something more: trust and love, freely given. He has given enough light for those who want to find him, without forcing those who don’t.
How to look
You shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.
- Pray honestly. Something as simple as “God, if you are there, show me” is enough.
- Read a Gospel, such as Mark or John, with an open mind.
- Talk to Christians you respect and ask them why they believe.
- Visit a church or join a course where questions are welcome.