March 3 I Saturday

Numbers 26-28

Mark 8

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”    —Jeremiah 29:13

Albert Einstein was once asked how much he understood of a particular thing to which he replied, “I do not know one hundredth part of one percent about anything.” Einstein was an incredibly brilliant man who recognized the scope of all that he did not know.

Atheism makes the dogmatic assertion that there is no God. Taken to its end, this is a very difficult position to justify. For the sake of illustration, let us assume we are a little cleverer than Einstein and know 1% of everything there is to know. That leaves 99% of knowledge we do not know. Assuming we are also an atheist, is it not possible that knowledge of God’s existence remains in the 99% we do not know?

The only way to know with certainty that God does not exist is to know 100% of everything there is to know. This is impossible, of course, which actually makes the atheist position impossible. What an atheist is really saying is, “In my one percent of knowledge, I don’t know anything about God. I don’t see any evidence that convinces me of His existence.” Agnosticism is a much more sensible position. Agnostics are not sure of the existence of God as they have not yet found enough evidence to be convinced either way. Believers, on the other hand, have discovered enough evidence in the little they do know to have found God and experienced Him.

In relation to the atheist, the agnostic and the believer, I once asked a congregation if they believed in the existence of Martin Tracey. There are only three answers to this question. They either knew Martin Tracey did not exist, they did not know, or they did know of his existence. The first stance is a foolish one as this would require knowing all 7.6 billion people on earth and counting. The second response is reasonable, while the third requires factual knowledge of Martin Tracey. 

To take it a step further, imagine you were informed that Martin Tracey died and had left you a million dollars. Most of us would be far more interested in discovering whether Martin Tracey was real or not. We would do everything in our power to find out, so we would know whether this gift was legitimate. God offers us far greater reasons than the monetary to look into His existence. He offers His Son, the means to eternal life, and His indwelling Spirit, both of which far transcend anything temporal or material. There is little incentive to remain agnostic, but every incentive to seek God. And when we seek Him with all our hearts, we will find Him to be true and real.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You promise we will find You when we seek You with all of our hearts. I pray You reveal Yourself more every day, granting me words of life and truth to share with others. Thank You, Lord.