Can You Show Me God?

Thanks goes to Sudarsun for writing this on his blog. It is inspiring to read and hear his refreshing view on life.

The Question:

Show me God for once, and I will believe in him right now. Can you?

Upon seeing that his atheistic arguments were doing little to shake my newfound faith, a close friend of mine once challenged me with the above question, much like any atheist would challenge a believer. My answer then was a circumlocutory "No", mixed with a suggestion to see God through experiences. Given another chance today, I would still answer him in "No", but with a rather different approach.

(Today at my study table, all of a sudden, I was reminded of that question. I contemplated for a while and then... a spark of light and boom. Thank God for his revelations. This is the second of that sort.)

"Can you show me God?"

My answer: Eyes aren't the only thing God has given us. He has given us ears to hear the wind blow so we can know that there is air, although we don't see the air with our naked eyes. He has given us nose with a sensation of smell so we, even when blindfolded, can distinguish a mango from an apple. He has given us the skin that tells us whether we are standing outside in scorching heat or freezing cold. You don't see the air, but you know it is there. You don't see the smell of a mango, you smell its smell. You can't see the feeling of heat or cold, you just feel it. Therefore, one must embrace the fact that his vision has limitations. If something is too dark, you can not see; at night, turn off the lights of your room and try walking around in the darkness. If something is too bright, you can not see; stare at the Sun for a couple of minutes and try looking around. If something is too far away, you can not see; can you show me the St. Louis Arch from McKendree? If something is too near, you can not see; can you see the tip of your index finger when it almost touches your forehead right between the eyes? Our vision has limitations. We can not see everything with our ordinary eyes. We can not see God.

As seen in above examples, our eyes can not judge the extremeties- too dark and too bright, too far and too near etc. Now understand this, God and mankind stand at extremeties. He is Holy, we are sinful; He is perfect, we are imperfect. Therefore, God and mankind stand at opposite extremes separated by sin.

Isaiah 59:1-2 says: "Surely the arms of the Lord are not too short to save nor His ears too dull to hear. But our iniquities have separated you from God. Your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear." Note the words here: "hidden His face". That's why we do not see God. Because our sins hide His face. Therefore, let's not seek God through our ordinary eyes. Let's seek Him instead with a repentant heart. Let's open our heart to receive Him, to experience Him. Let's employ our ears and listen to His voice. Amen.

Sudarsun is a McKendree College student from Nepal and was raised a Hindu. He came to know the Lord last fall and has grown incredibly since then. I enjoy his view on Christianity as one who has come from a completely different background. His viewpoint continues to inspire me to thinking about the ruts that being raised in a "Christian" nation allow you to fall in to. God bless you Sudarsun and thank you for the insight.