to be(lieve) or not to be(lieve), that is the question

Death to False Metal has left a new comment on your post "Get the door, it's....God?": ”not to rain on your parade, but must everything in the world that goes your way be an act of god? today the top of my sandwich fell off and onto the ground and i had to eat half a sandwich, which was very messy. was that an act of the devil, or did god oppose the idea of me eating that top of the sandwich?the fact of the matter is, highly improbable occurances of good luck are not miracles...they are just that. the thing is, that imagine how many seconds you live. so if something desirable that is million to one shot occurs, that seems incredibly lucky, but think about the million times it didnt occur. it would actually be suprising if things that are million to one shots didnt show up after millions of it not occuring.god is "unbelieveable", alright”

I received this email this past week from the blogspot. As a public domain, anyone can come in and read our postings and leave comments. Many people have left comments on the blog the past couple of years while most do not. From time to time we will receive a comment like the one you just read. I would like to respond to this comment.

First of all, I do not know who “Death to False Metal” is, as far as I can tell. All I really know is that this person read the blog article and made comments. I do not know if this person reads this blog regularly or if it was just a random reading. I do not know if the comment is just a slam on Christianity or if the comments are sincere expressions of this person’s thoughts. Regardless, I think it deserves a response because it represents a sizable percentage of the population’s opinion about this very subject. Death to False Metal is not raining on my parade; he is challenging my core beliefs with his own.

In reality, the basic question at hand is whether God exists and is at work or the idea that everything just happens by chance and coincidence. This is not exactly a new question; this has been around for hundreds of years. Some of the greatest minds have debated this very issue. Whether you are looking at sub-atomic particles or a very messy sandwich missing the top piece of bread, it all boils down to one thing: God or chance?

Skeptics have always questioned the idea of God. Atheists proclaim that there is no God. Believers counter by stating that God is alive and well and the evidence is undeniable. Without getting into a huge theological debate, let’s just cut to the heart of all of this. I think this all comes down to belief and faith. My faith in God is rooted in my belief in Him and by what I observe. I believe in God by what I see and experience. I do not see things happening by chance or by coincidence, I see God at work because I have learned to look for His handiworks.

One of the most famous suspense directors of all time was Alfred Hitchcock. Even though his movies were made years ago they still make their rounds via DVD and TV movies. He made dozens of top notch movies from the 1920’s all the way to the 1970’s. His use of lighting, shadows, and angles made his films much scarier and suspenseful than they actually were. He did not have to use blood and gore to scare people, he used suspense and implications to get the message across. He allowed the audience’s imagination do its thing. One of the most interesting things about his movies was the fact that he appeared in all of them in cameo roles. When I first heard this I did not believe it. But, once I started watching for him, and knew what I was supposed to be looking for, I found that it was true. I had to train myself to look for him in the movie walking down a sidewalk or shopping in a store. Without knowing this information I would had never looked for him, and, of course, never would have seen him. Knowing this now allows me to know that he will be seen in a movie that he made, even if it one I have not seen before.

The work of God can be viewed in a similar way. Unless you know to look for God and His handiwork, it is very unlikely that you will ever see it. You might even dismiss it all as accidents, chance, coincidence, or random occurrences. However, once you understand God and know how much He cares about His creation, you understand why God would be at work. And, by understanding God, you see His work all around you. Maybe a better question would be, do you accept what you see as God’s work? I am not trying to say that God orchestrates or dictates every detail of every event that occurs here on earth. But, I am not saying that He is not capable of doing just that. God created this universe, which is more massive than we ever thought it could be, all the way down to the sub-nuclear level. If He did that I am pretty sure He can micro manage the affairs of man if He wants to do it.

However, even though God has the capability to micro manage, He does not. Because He grants us all free will. He allows the ebb and flow of life to take place. It is ultimately our choice that takes place when it is all said and done. Can God intervene in man’s affairs? Yes. Does He intervene? Yes. Will He intervene? That answer is prompted by His own will and motive. We can pray and ask, and He will indeed hear and answer. We have to watch, listen, and observe, to see what the answer will be.

Of course, if you do not believe in God, this will make no sense to you at all. If you are a skeptic, you will read this will a grain of salt and put on your doubter hat. If you are a believer, you will understand and agree with all of this. If Death to False Metal is right, and my passport came totally by chance and good luck, then I am a blessed guy and I have nothing to loose. If God was involved through the answering of prayer, I am still a very blessed guy and people like Death to False Metal needs to realize that there is a lot to loose.. Who’s right and who’s wrong? I’ll put my odds on God, what have I got to loose?

Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understoon from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

T. Reeves