Treasury of Faith index

God Is Not Hard To Find

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Life In Christ Center, 3095 Cherry Heights Road, The Dalles, Oregon 97058

(541) 296-1136

All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

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During a college psychology class a discussion turned to the subject of constructs. In psychology a "construct" is a group of mental impressions put together in a specific form to aid the imagination in its speculation. A construct does not exist in objective reality. It is only a mental form. It is useful only as a mental scaffold to help build more concrete understandings. Once it outlasts its usefulness, it can be discarded.

During the discussion a student asked the instructor, "is God a construct?"

The instructor replied that the existence of God is beyond the scope of science. Science deals with physical observations and experimentation. Being nonphysical and nonobservable as to His person. God is outside the jurisdiction of science.

The instructor was correct.

Does this mean that God has not made himself known? No. On the contrary. God has provided a full range of compelling evidences of himself-His existence, His nature, His will. When properly considered, to the honest inquirer these will be conclusive.

"But I must have absolute proof" the skeptic demands.

And what kind of proof is required? The answer of course is physical, empirical proof. The evidence must fit the unbeliever’s own specifications in order to meet a certain criteria for belief. In other words, the unbeliever tries to set the rules of inquiry and demands that God follow them. Making himself sovereign, the secularist proceeds to dictate the boundaries of acceptable information. Instead of considering the existing evidence, he insists on having other information as a precondition for personal faith.

This is presumptuous, unfair, and futile. The Creator will not surrender His sovereignty or authority to any man. (and will not climb onto anyone’s laboratory table, squeeze into anyone’s test tube, slide under anyone’s microscope, and play specimen for any mortal who insists on being a validator of Deity.

More than any other challenge to the human mind, this search requires humility in the inquirer. But it is the one that elicits the most untempered pride. Often humility, objectivity, and diligence are most lacking. The reason is that the search confronts the person himself or herself most directly and totally-the ego, the value-system, the lifestyle, the issue of who shall be supreme. The unbeliever wants to avoid an honest encounter with the truth of God and the God of truth. The bias is not merely intellectual: it is moral.

On this subject, man cannot arrive at the truth by starting from himself. But the very nature of the inquiry, if we are to know God, God must reveal himself to us and we must honestly accept His self-revelation. We must follow God’s rules, including the indispensable conditions of humility and faith-reasonable faith-demanded by the evidence.

When we consider honestly the full testimony that God has given to us concerning himself, we must ask: What more can God say to us without shouting at us? What more can He do without forcing himself on us? Does the agnostic want God to come and forcibly crush all his cavils? Will additional evidence convince the person who refuses to give due consideration to the evidences now available examine further evidence?

Are most unbelievers giving this quest the diligence it deserves? No. They are not seeking after God. They are looking for a reason to avoid Him.

In her book, God Is No Fool, Lois A. Cheney wrote:

"I once knew a young man who was searching for God. And I was touched by his search; and I prayed for his search; and I loved his search.

"He read a lot of books. He thought and thought about their ideas. He talked to many people, in pairs and in groups; they matched their minds with his and they furthered his search. He walked and sought God in the rain. He climbed and sought God on the mountain. He closed himself off from the world and sought God in his soul.

"He would describe his searchings and travels for truth. He would explain how he had meticulously and prayerfully sorted, rejected, and accepted.

"As the years went on, I changed from anticipating the recountings of his searches, to simply receiving them; to being bored with them: to avoiding them; and him. You see, he had fallen in love with his search.

"God just isn’t that hard to find"*

Yes, God has revealed himself to us. In a myriad of ways He is telling us things about himself, communicating so everyone who will listen can hear. For that reason the Bible does not attempt to prove the existence of God. He needs no proof. His own testimony is proof enough for the honest heart.

"He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27,NIV). The moment you come to Jesus Christ, you will meet Him.

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