Walking in the Light, December 28, 2008

Walking in the Light

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “What if?” What if my faith in a resurrected Christ is all for naught? What if the biblical record is merely fiction and the death, burial and resurrection of Christ all a hoax? In other words, all the prayers that have rolled off your tongue, all the hours spent in bible study, all the efforts made to live a moral and upright life were all in vain; completely and totally unnecessary.

For years, the atheist has said just that; that such a belief in Jesus and the bible is futile; that all the time and effort directed toward prayer, bible study and righteous living is a complete waste of time because there is no God. However, my response to the atheist is, “What if?” What if my faith is not futile? What if God does exist? What if He did send His Son who died on a cross and was raised three days later? What if prayer, bible study and salvation are necessary. Let’s play the “what if” game.

A man by the name of Paschal came up with an interesting take on the issue; it’s called Paschal’s Wager and it states, “If Christianity is not true, then the believer has lost nothing. However, if Christianity is true, then the non-believer has lost everything.” What has the believer lost in striving to be Christ-like? What has he lost in living a moral and upright life? Is this not still the best way to live?

However, when mankind turns his back on God and places himself at the center of his own universe he ultimately creates a form of hell right here on earth. It is not in man to direct his own steps (Jer. 10:23); he will fail every time. Those who try to be Lord of their own lives will always fail and fail miserably; that is a fact that can always be safely relied upon.

For centuries people have been trying to disprove Christianity and its message. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian brethren, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins (1 Cor. 15:16 & 17).” He goes on to say, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:19).” Paul, like many other early Christians, died for his faith. I seriously doubt he, and the multitude of others who were persecuted and killed for believing in Christ, would have been willing to die without full confidence in a resurrected Messiah.

Truth is, to turn your back on God and His Word is to turn your back on a mountain of evidence in their favor. When one considers the evidence they will see that it all points to an Almighty Creator and a risen Lord. Some may choose to ignore the evidence, but they must ask themselves the question, “What if?”

Chris McCurley