Seven reasons to believe God exists: He has revealed Himself in the created world (Psalm 19:1–6), He has revealed Himself in His Word (Psalm 19:7–11), He has revealed Himself in changed people (Psalm 19:12–14), and human eternal longings point to His existence (Ecclesiastes 3:11), He has revealed Himself in the incarnate Word (John 1:1–18), He has revealed Himself in the resurrection (Acts 17:31), and finally, He makes life worth living.
Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” As with a couple of the other reasons listed, this last is somewhat experiential and, therefore, anecdotal. Some have “tried” belief in God and Jesus and gone away jaded, cynical, and disillusioned. Nevertheless, if God exists and What He says is true, then authentic belief in Him will produce the best of all possible lives here on earth.
One of the most common objections to God’s existence is the so-called “Problem of Suffering.” The line of reasoning here says that If God is all-good and God is all-powerful, then suffering should not exist. This argument assumes that allowing anyone to suffer shows a deficiency in either goodness or power or both. Suffering, however, is the byproduct of sin. Sin exists in the world precisely because God is so good that He created humans with true free will.
Only belief in God gives an explanation for suffering as well as a means of channeling it for greater good in this life. Jesus’ death on the cross not only atones for human sin, it also provides a new way of looking at life and death. Suffering reveals the brokenness of this world by sin and also becomes the means by which God overcomes sin for all people who will receive His gift.
Jesus summarizes this world-upending truth in the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. The so-called “Beatitudes” reveal the life that God calls “blessed” or “happy.” It is a life of humility, mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity, and peacemaking. In short, it is contrary to the ways of the world. But it is this life that is truly worth living. Believe God exists; He makes life worth living.
Clay Leonard
