Do you disagree with this statement? Whether you do or not, consider the following:

• Some of us believe in God and call Him by different names.
• Some of us boldly proclaim He doesn't exist.
• Some of us aren't sure whether we believe in Him or not.
• Some of us don't care if He exists – because such thoughts rarely cross our minds.

Having said all of that, everyone reading this article falls into one of these four broad categories.

The Chocolate Analogy

Allow me to share an interesting story with you to illustrate a key point about faith in God.

Several years ago, I was in a discussion with an individual on religion and the idea of proving God's existence. The gentleman I was speaking with asked, "Can you prove God's existence to me?" Here was my response:

"The short answer is, 'No, I cannot prove to you that God exists.' However, I'd like to say that while I can't prove to you that God exists, it is also not possible for you to PROVE to me that chocolate tastes sweet!'"

The gentleman smiled and said, "That's easy! All I have to do is give you a piece of chocolate, have you put it in your mouth, and taste the sweetness."

I replied, "No, I can't let you do that. See, that's the Christian way!"

He countered, "What do you mean, 'the Christian way.'?"

I replied, "See, for several millennia now, Believers have tried to get non-believers to come to the house of God and pray with us. We gave you this invitation so you could experience God for yourselves. But instead, you told us to prove His existence first...and then you would come to church. Well, now I'm going to request that you PROVE TO ME that chocolate is sweet by referring to the scientific data that you've personally tested and collected so that I can then (potentially) turn my back on the mountain of information you've collected and say to you, 'I don't believe that!'"

I continued. "Here's my point: No one can PROVE anything to anyone who's unwilling to take a small step of faith and consider the words spoken by someone else! For example, you could present to me a stack of scientific papers twenty feet high and fifty feet wide that prove chocolate is sweet. However, if I was unwilling to take a small step of faith toward your position, I could walk past the mountain of paperwork and state that I don't believe in your findings. I could then point out that you haven't proven anything to me."

The gentleman was silent for several seconds before stating, "I've never thought of it that way."

So, when it comes to proving anything to anyone, both parties must be willing to consider and ponder what the other person has stated. And this can be one of the hardest things to do – because so often, people (whether Believer or Non-Believer) will sometimes close themselves off to ideas they don't want to believe in (for a variety of reasons).

Why This Matters

Why is all of this important? It is important because some people don't want to believe in God because of what it might mean for them and their current lifestyle.

Closing Thoughts

1. For me, I accept people for who they are and whatever they choose to believe in or trust. However, because of all that I've learned and experienced in my life by trusting in Christ (i.e., I've gone far beyond "simple belief" or "mental assent"), I share Him as a real-life alternative to unhappiness, loneliness, bitterness, emptiness, anger, and feelings of being lost and unfulfilled. (NOTE: I'm not talking about the religion of Christianity. Instead, I'm talking about a real relationship with the Creator of the universe. If you don't know the difference or think/believe they are the same, it's because you haven't yet met Christ! Once you have a personal encounter with Christ, and He begins to work on your heart and mind, you'll truly understand the difference between "being religious" and "having met your Creator" – before death!)

2. If you're the kind of person who needs a certain amount of "PROOF" before making a decision, here are five books I want to encourage you to read:

   • "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist" by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek (448 pages)
   • "Evidence That Demands a Verdict : Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World" by Josh and Sean McDowell (880 pages)
   • "On the Resurrection, Volume 1 : Evidences", by Gary Habermas (1072 pages)
   • "On the Resurrection, Volume 2 : Refutations", Gary Habermas (896 pages)
   • "On the Resurrection, Volume 3 : Scholarly Perspectives", by Gary Habermas (992 pages)
   
   

   These four-thousand, two-hundred and eighty-eight (4,288) pages will give you enough "evidence" to make an informed decision about Christ! Now, these books won't address some of the more difficult topics (e.g., why all of the hypocrisy & pretending among Christians, why is there evil, why the various Bible versions, etc..). Still, they will give you enough evidence about Christ to determine if you want Him in your life!