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What Kind of God do you Believe In?



            “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

            Faith comes in two forms; an easier one and a harder one.

            The easier form of faith is to “believe that he (God) exists”.  This is “easier” for two reasons.  First, I can see some things that help me believe.  For example, take a few minutes and look at the starry sky tonight and ask yourself, “Do I really believe that all those stars and all those galaxies (not to mention all the ones I cannot see, do not know about and the ones that we have not even discovered yet) came about by some weird, strange and really good accident?”  Think about that long enough and you may come to the conclusion that it more reasonable to believe in a God who created all these things.  Or, hold a baby and think about the systems of the body and how they work.  Do some reading about how our eyes work and you may conclude that someone designed us.

            It is easy to acknowledge a God “somewhere”.  He was back there at creation and maybe he will show up in the future at the end of all things, maybe even in a “Judgment day”.   However, it is much harder to believe in a God that is here right now.  And that is exactly what makes the second part of Hebrew 11:6 much harder.

            It says, “Anyone who comes to him must believe that… he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”   A more modern translation says that we must believe, “both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.”  A God “somewhere” is one thing.  A God “here”, who knows me and my struggles and my life and one who cares enough to help me, that is another story. Yet, it is the true story!

            My wife, Sara, likes Luke 12:6-7 which says “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not 
one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  Think about a God who knows you so well that he knows every hair on your head (for some of us there is less to count than others but…).  

            The message:  Do not be afraid!  You are not alone!  I, God, am with you.  I am not far off.  I am not “back there” or “coming someday”, I am here now!

            It is easy to believe that there is a God.  It is another thing to believe in a God who cares about you.

            The good news is that both statements are true!

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