Everybody lives by faith. Everybody.
Don’t believe me?
Your alarm goes off and you roll out of bed – the bed you trusted all night long to hold you up. It’s dark outside, so how do you KNOW your clock is accurate? You don’t; you trust.
You stumble to the bathroom and get a drink of water. How do you KNOW that water is really safe to drink? You don’t; you trust.
You sit down to eat a bowl of cereal. How do you KNOW your Shredded Wheat is really shredded wheat? You didn’t see it being made. Could be shredded cardboard, for all you know. But you trust.
You get in your car to go to work. What if the brakes don’t work? What if the tires were made out of defective rubber? What if the guy on the assembly line at the auto plant had a serious hangover the day he was installing your steering wheel? How do you know that was really gasoline you put in your tank yesterday? You don’t KNOW; you TRUST.
And what about all those other drivers out there on the road? One of them might be feeling suicidal today. Some of them may have failed their driving tests. But you trust (and buckle your seatbelt).
You get on an elevator to ride up to your office. How do you KNOW the elevator is safe? You don’t know; you trust.
The day has just begun and you’ve had to muster the faith of Moses to even get to work.
If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, taken medicine, eaten in a restaurant, undergone a medical procedure, or deposited your paycheck in a bank, you have faith.
Everybody lives by faith.
The atheist has faith that there is no God. I believe there is, that He created the heavens and the earth, and that He calls us to live in glorious relationship with Him.
The unbeliever trusts that Jesus was a lunatic or a liar. I believe that Jesus is exactly who He says He is, and that He will do all He promises to do.
The skeptic trusts that Jesus was not crucified and then raised from the dead. I believe He was, based on His own words, as well as the historical testimony of eyewitnesses who saw the empty tomb and the risen Christ. (By the way, many of those eyewitnesses died for their beliefs – would you die for a fable or a lie?)
If I am wrong, I will still have lived a fulfilling, purposeful, hopeful life.
If they are wrong, they will spend eternity in unimaginable torment, completely separated from the goodness and love of God.
Who has the most to lose?
You see, it’s not about whether we have faith, because we all do. It’s about who or what we choose to put our faith in. I choose Jesus.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. … We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” — 1 John 1:1, 3
“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