WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM- The Question We All Ask at Some Point

     It's been fifteen or more years ago now, but I still remember it clearly. As I was exiting my 10-year-old son's bedroom that night after evening prayers, he asked me a simple question that halted me dead in my tracks. Back to that question in a moment.

     Had they been asked the same question by my son, two of the most famous and respected men in the world- both who passed away recently, would have given the child radically different answers.

     The earthly lives of Dr. Billy Graham and Dr. Stephen Hawking have both reached their finales. And each had a dramatic impact on the world and will not soon, if ever, be forgotten. As you probably know, Graham was a world famous Christian evangelist and Hawking was an equally famous theoretical physicist. Billy became a pioneer in the world of faith while Stephen was the same in the world of science.

     If they ever met I'm sure they were cordial and respectful to each other, but they had a gentleman's disagreement. One believed in a Divine Creator and an afterlife, while the other believed the world evolved by chance and that death is final.

     Both were revered by millions. Graham inspired the world with his boldness and  his ability to share the Gospel in a loving, gentle but straight-forward manner. Hawking was not only a scientific genius, but inspired the world with his courage in fighting and overcoming many of the disabilities associated with the form of ALS he had suffered since the age of 21.

     Billy lived by faith, Stephen lived by scientific evidence. Billy believed God in Heaven created Earth and loves mankind, while Stephen was certain that  spontaneous creation is why life exists and “science makes God unnecessary”.

     A philosopher in the 17^th century named Pascal put forth the idea that man basically bets his life on whether or not God exists. His philosophy concerning what happens when you die was this: If you refuse to believe and you are correct, you gain nothing. But if you refuse to believe and you are wrong, you lose everything. If you choose to believe and you are wrong, you lose nothing. But if you choose to believe and you are correct, you gain everything. So logically, the only way to gain is to believe.

     I realize there's a whole lot more to it than just believing God exists. The Bible reminds us in James 2:19 that even the demons believe God exists. A Christian puts his faith and trust in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and accepts the sacrifice He made on the cross to pay for man's sins.

     However, none of the philosophical arguments were on my mind the night my son asked me the question everyone asks- either to themselves or out loud at some point. “Daddy, how do we know whether or not God is really there?”

     I stopped in the doorway, turned around, and made my way back to my son's bedside in the darkened room. As I plopped down on the bed next to him, John 3:8 came to my mind and I asked my son if he had ever seen the wind. When he answered no, I reminded him that even without seeing it, we know it's there because we can see its effects. We see the impact and the power it has. He seemed to appreciate the answer and was fast asleep within minutes. Perhaps Dr. Graham would have given my son a similar answer had he been there by his bedside that night.

     But Stephen Hawking would not have. One of the most brilliant human beings to ever inhabit planet Earth would have explained that the child's life was some sort of cosmic accident. I don't say that to be critical of Dr. Hawking, I have tremendous respect for him. I'm simply saying that the genius man with all the answers may have stumbled when it came to the most important one of all: the meaning of life.

     The skeptic might ask the following question: “How can you believe in God when you have neither seen him, heard him, or touched him”. My reply would be simple: “It's true I've never seen Him, heard Him, or touched Him . . . but I most certainly . . . have experienced Him.”