The Bungee Cord

Hello,

Has anyone ever asked you, “Why do you believe in God?”

I find it interesting that over the course of my nearly 40 years of being a pastor, I do not think that that question has ever been asked of me. Not even once.

I have, however, found myself asking me that question. “Why do I believe in God?”

Through the centuries, many have tackled this question. Some have answered it by pointing to the creation, and saying, “How could you not believe in God?” Others have drawn upon their skills in logic and they say, “Logically, it makes sense to believe in God.” Still others recount some miraculous event in their lives and draw their belief in God from it. And some, I am sure because some preacher has told them they have to, believe in God in order to go to heaven after they die.

These answers may provide a link to belief in God for some people, but for me they do not span the chasm between unbelief and belief. For me, creation, though amazing and awesome is also capricious and faltering. Logic falls short because it has led some to not believe. Two people experiencing the same miraculous event are apt to differently attribute it. And, if it is true that God only likes those who like him, I am not too sure that such a God would like me enough to have me around forever.

Why do I believe in God? The clearest answer for me is that I was raised in a home that believed in God, and I am thankful for that. But I know, and you know, that belief that is based on another’s belief may be a good foundation for ongoing belief, but in order for that belief to be an active catalyst to life, it needs to be personally asserted, especially in our day and age.

So, maybe the more pertinent question for me is, “Why do I continue to believe in God?” Here’s my answer, “Because God wants me to.” For some divine reason, it seems clear to me that God wants me to believe in God. Like a lover who is stricken with love for another, and wants the other to believe it and take it to their heart, so God, who the book of John says “is love”, wants me to believe in God and take it to my heart. To believe that I am not, as Kansas says, just “dust in the wind”. Instead as the Psalmist says, I am “the apple of God’s eye.” To believe that my life is not at the mercy of the vibrations of the universe like those football players on that electronic game that we used to have when I was a kid. Instead it is guided and led by a shepherd who would lay down their life for even one sheep. To believe that I am not an accident that will be forgotten, but instead I am a jewel that will be eternally treasured.

It seems to me that that is what the Bible is all about. It is about a God who wants to be believed in. So deep is God’s desire to be believed in that God took the ultimate step to create belief. That is what Jesus is all about. “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.” Hebrews 1:1

To some, this may seem like a circular argument, but to me no less circular that the answer given by a bride or groom at a wedding to the question, “Why did you marry the other?”

“Because the other showed me who they were: someone stricken in love for me, and I took it to heart.”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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