Hello,
Ever heard of
the “Ain’t Paul Ain’ts”? Neither
had I before last week as I was listening to the radio on my way home from
work. Apparently, as a promotional
gig, the minor league baseball team from St. Paul, Minnesota, “The Saint Paul
Saints”, took the letter “S” out of their name for one game, a game that was
being sponsored by the Atheist Society of Minnesota (didn’t even know there was
such a society) and transformed themselves into the “Ain’t Paul Ain’ts”. “Come,” was the invitation by the team
management to the ballpark for a night ‘unbelievable fun’!”
When I
heard about this promotional stunt (that is what the team’s representative
called it), I had mixed feelings.
Personally, I did not find it amusing….but that is just me. What struck me is the reality that it
depicts, the reality that we live in a time when the reality of God is often
questioned and sometimes dismissed.
Questioned by serious minded people, whose questions deserve serious
dialogue. Questioned by people who
seem to avoid serious thought and seem to have little desire to delve into
careful conversation. Questioned
by those who find themselves as the rope in a tug of war between the things of
this world that they can see and the things of God that they cannot see. I don’t know if our time is a time of
unequalled questioning of the existence of God, but it certainly is a
questioning that has made it home in our day.
Does God exist? To think
that this question can be answered in the shortness of the Bungee Cord would be
a bit preposterous given that people far smarter than I have written tomes, and
the question still is left incomplete in answer. To me, it seems reasonable that no answer, short or long,
could ever be surmised by empirical evidence or logical thought to nail down
the certainty of the existence of one who is purported to be beyond and outside
of human senses and intellect.
To me, the question of God’s existence is akin to the question of the
existence of the love between people.
Can you put your finger on love and touch it? Can you wrap your mind around it and understand it? Such is the complexity in coming to
terms with the existence of God.
Yet, just as one who loves seeks to convince the lovee of the love that
exists, the Bible tells us that God is likewise at work to convince us of his
existence and love.
Interestingly enough, that although the wonders of nature may lead some
to consider God’s existence, the Bible affirms that the wonders of nature can
also lead people to wonder of God’s existence due to the capriciousness and
devastating power of nature. I
know that a God who seems to care little for you or me is not easy to believe
in, and in truth, probably isn’t worth believing in.
But the Bible tells us that God is determined to make himself known to
us so that we can live and die in uncrushable peace and an unshakable
hope. That is what Jesus all
about. “God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believes in him
might not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) As unbelievable as it might seem, the one who is beyond and
above human conception, was conceived in a woman and became human. Why did God do that? So that we might come to know God…know
that God exists and know that God cares for us so deeply that God would hold
nothing back….not even the pain of life and the agony of death.
But even more than that, God is so determined to speak to our questions
of God’s existence, be they reasonable or not, that God invites us to a Sunday
table, sits us down and in a piece
of bread and a sip of wine gives us himself, the body and blood of Jesus. It is true that it is unbelievable that
God would do such a thing for mere mortals as we, and maybe equally unbelievable
that God could do such a thing.
Fact of the matter is that you don’t have to be an “Ain’t Paul Ain’t” to
find yourself questioning the existence of God and thereby miss out on the
peace and hope that is found in God’s embrace. There’s plenty that we encounter every day to dim our belief
in God. Thanks be to God that by
the power of the Holy Spirit, God himself, God is determined to raise up faith
in us so that we can say and live in the confidence and hope that “Jesus is
LORD.”
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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