Compelling evidence for the reality of God

Have you ever tried to convince a sceptic that God is real and that Christianity is true? You can end up with all kinds of deep philosophical points. You can look at the complexity of the world, our internal need for purpose, or natural law. Yet there is one piece of evidence that has been critical in so many coming to know Jesus: the changed lives of ordinary believers.

In 2 Kings 8, Elisha’s servant Gehazi was speaking to the king of Israel about the things Elisha had done. He was telling the king about the time that Elisha was involved in raising a young boy from the dead. While we are not told what the king thought of this, it is fair to expect him to be sceptical. It does seem a little far-fetched. Yet, just at that moment, the woman whose son was raised from the dead, and her formerly-dead son, walked into the throne room on another matter! Now the odd story cannot be ignored. There is real evidence that God has raised the dead.

We see something similar in John 12. Lazarus has recently been raised from the dead. This was a public thing known to be true by many. And Lazarus himself was eating with Jesus and his disciples, a walking piece of evidence of God who raises the dead.

Christians today are also walking, talking pieces of evidence that God raises the dead. Not in the sense that we have literally died and risen again (yet), but our lives are markedly different because of the work of Jesus. The distinctive lives of faithful believers will be noticed by those around us. The example we set might lead people to ask questions for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15), or even to people being saved (1 Cor 7:16, 1 Peter 2:12).

I know what you’re thinking because I think it too. Who are we? Unlike Lazarus and the Shunammite’s son, we don’t have such a dramatic story to tell in many cases. Some of us might be able to speak of being saved out of drug addiction or adherence to another religion, but many of us feel our life stories are more ordinary. The truth is that if you are a faithful believer, you will stand out in all kinds of ways. It could be something as simple as treating all people equally and fairly. It could be to do with your faithfulness to your spouse or your purity as a single person. It could be your friendship with those very different to you at church or your honesty in difficult situations.

An ordinary faithful Christian in a workplace or a family can be strong evidence for God and his work in changing us. Who knows where this might lead? Look for opportunities to speak of why you see the world differently from other people. Just like salt does, a small quantity of Christians in a place should make the whole place distinctively better.