It Takes Faith

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,

so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Hebrews 11:3, NKJV

 

I wasn't there when Noah built the ark.  I wasn't there when Moses and the Children of Israel passed through the sea on dry land.  I wasn't there when the walls of Jericho fell.  I wasn't there when David killed Goliath.  I wasn't there when Elijah went to heaven in a whirlwind and a chariot of fire.  I wasn't there when Jesus walked on water or turned it into wine.  I wasn't there when He made the blind to see and the lame to walk, the deaf to hear and the dumb to talk.  I wasn't there when Lazarus and Jairus' daughter and the son of the widow of Nain were raised from the dead.  I wasn't there when the stone was rolled away, revealing an empty tomb three days after the death and burial of Jesus.  I wasn't there when Jesus went to heaven with the promise that He is coming back some day.

 

I didn't see any of those things with my own eyes.  I didn't hear any of it with my own ears.  And I don't know anybody who did.  But I have a book that tells me it is so.  It's not just any book, it is the collected written works of God, written by holy men of old as they were moved on by the Holy Spirit.  And it has stood the test of time. 

 

It is truth that has changed the lives of countless millions through the millennia.  It is truth that has saved the sinner, healed the sick, comforted the broken, encouraged the faint, strengthened the weak, and directed the lost.

 

Try as they might, no man has ever disproven its words, no matter how much they disagree.  Kings have tried to destroy it, heretics have tried to corrupt it, atheists have tried to dispute it, all to no effect.  The Word of God is a sure foundation and has withstood every test.  The louder men try to contradict it, the more confidence it gains.  Evidence is continually uncovered that verifies its truth.  There are more ancient manuscripts in existence for this text than any other body of writing, and in spite of what the skeptics say, from one end of the old world to the other, those ancient manuscripts are in complete agreement regarding the most important truths anyone has ever proclaimed.

 

So when I'm asked, "How can you believe this?" my answer is simple.  I have no reason not to believe it.  I have no problem with history; history agrees with me.  I have no problem with science; true science will always verify the veracity of the word.  I do have a problem with theories and unproven hypotheses, with scientists-so-called who start from false premises to promote fanciful claims, because they have placed their faith in something besides this book and its Author.

 

I wasn't there at the beginning.  No man was.  But I believe that in the beginning, God created.  It takes faith to believe that.  Of course, it takes faith NOT to believe it.  Faith that the finite mind of man can truly understand and explain the practical infinity of time and space and matter without God.  Faith that human reason and intellect are the highest achievements of natural selection and random acts of adaptations.  Faith that there is no higher law, or higher morality, or higher purpose in life than to make oneself happy.  Faith that there is no Higher Power.

 

It all takes faith, but I don't have the faith to believe in nothing, not even myself.  I know myself too well.  So I believe in God.  I believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and my personal Savior.  And I believe in the Bible as God's absolute and final word on any given subject addressed in it.

 

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1, NKJV