God and the Atheist
There are people in my life, people I care about, who are intelligent savvy individuals, people I respect, who do not have any faith in God. That baffles me.
These are logical, sane, good people. The biggest reason for their collective lack of faith, is a lack of evidence, which is hysterical to me since believing in God without any solid tangible proof would be the very definition of faith. My argument is that there is no proof that God does not exist. Until I find that proof, I am a true believer and follower of Jesus Christ.
However, it wasn't always like that. From the beginning I'v always been a tiny bit skeptical. Which is why I guess I've always been fascinated with the subject of faith. As a child I asked a lot of questions which the adults in my life never seemed to have good answers for. That only made me wonder more. I dove head first into the Bible and several hundred other books about the Bible along with articles that argued there was no God at all. I'm also very open minded and willing to look at all possibilities including skepticism.
One of my friends recently referred to my God as "the invisible man in the sky." While I respect his opinion, I tend to see God everywhere. I see His hand in the birth of a baby, the spring flowers, a mountaintop and the astoundingly beautiful sunrise and sunset views I see every single day from the lanai in my southwest Florida home. While my faith is strong and solid, I am very aware that 2.3% of the world's population is atheist. The population of France, I'm told, is 32% atheist, which makes sense to me since the majority of people I ran into in France seemed angry and unhappy.
Actually there are a lot of really smart people who used to be atheist. It seems each of them decided to research to try and prove there is no supreme being but instead were convicted themselves into becoming true believers in a higher power. They include Dame Cicely Mary Saunders, Leah Libresco, C.S.Lewis, John Orley, Allen Tate, Joy Davidman, Tamsin Margaret M. Greig, Nicholas Glyn Paul Gumbel, Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad, Francis Sellers Collins, Aleksandr Tsarevich Solzhenitsyn, Seraphim Rose and Sigrid Undset to name a few.
In the end, I feel it is only common sense to believe in and have a strong faith in Jesus Christ. Here's why. If what I'm saying is wrong and you believe me, you will loose absolutely nothing, but, if what I say is right, and you don't believe me, you will loose everything. You've got nothing to loose and everything to gain by believing that it is by faith through God's grace that you are saved. You cannot earn it. No where in the Bible does it say you must work your way to heaven. Simply confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the grave and you will be with Jesus in heaven for eternity.
When Jesus went missing from the tomb, neither the Jewish authorities, nor the Romans, could find his body. If they had, Christianity would have ended right then and there. But they couldn't. And how else can we explain the massive difference in the disciples of Christ? Remember they were all heart broken by the horrific death of Christ. They were completely demoralized and full of fear. Then they boldly came out of hiding. Joyful and fearless they proclaimed the Gospel with strength and power. They never stopped even though they were hunted down and murdered one by one (except for John). Why in the world would these 12 men put themselves in that kind of danger for a fake Lord? If they had indeed stolen the body and hidden it; why would they sacrifice their own lives for what they knew was only a lie? It makes no sense. To me the new testament overwhelmingly proves we have a living God.
That is not what transformed be from a sceptic into a follower of Christ. What changed my thinking and my heart was Christ Himself. He loves me. No matter what I do, no matter what I say, no matter how I act, He loves me. This kind of amazing love is a supernatural love that can only be from the creator Himself. I feel His love all around me, every day. It gives me hope. It strengthens me. It gives me joy in any circumstance. Why wouldn't I want to believe that there is a power far greater than me? Why wouldn't I want to have a supreme being that answers my prayers and brings me opportunities and fills my life with blessings? I see a major difference in my life as a sceptic versus my life as a believer. You've got nothing to loose, try it.
—Yvonne Conte is a motivational humorist, stress reduction expert, author of Serious Laughter, Frankie Wonders, Make a BIG Deal, Bits of Joy, Remarkable Women of Faith and Cry, Laugh, Cook! She is the Founder and Director of Day of Joy, Inc a 501c3 organization contributing thousands of dollars to local charities annually.