God Revealed to Babes

Yesterday I finished the book There Is A God, a book by Anthony Flew.  For fifty years he was a leading atheist and professional philosopher who denied and argued against the existence of God.  He was an adherent to the Socratic principle of "following the evidence wherever it leads."  After half a century of being an atheist, Anthony Flew startled the world by saying he had changed his mind.  The overwhelming array of evidence convinced Flew of the existence of a "God" he describes as "self-existent, immutable, immaterial, omnipotent, and omniscient Being." (pg. 155)

It is a very satisfying thought that Anthony Flew was a man of such distinction and quality in the field of philosophy for fifty years and arrived to a place of believing in God based upon the evidence.  The book primarily interested me because I was curious what earth-shattering evidence would make an atheist change to a deist.  In a way, reading the book was a little anti-climactic.  Why?  Because the evidence he speaks of is the exact same evidence that already confirmed God's existence to me!  I do not consider myself an intellectual or academic, and indeed I am not.  I have not taught philosophy at a any level for a single class, nor have I been exposed to the breadth of evidence Anthony Flew has.  He graduated from Oxford and later taught there, and I went to a Junior College and later worked in construction!  Yet we have arrived at the same place:  we both believe God exists.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 11:25-27:  "At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. ²⁶ Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ²⁷ All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Consider the goodness and grace of God, that He would reveal Himself to babes!  There are intellectuals who can tie my brain in a knot with a sentence who are devoid of the knowledge of God.  They wrestle for years over problems that Jesus Christ unravels with a single verse of scripture when guided by the Holy Spirit.  People debate, argue, and draw battle lines over philosophies or ethics which have been simply declared by God.  I have heard men dogmatically speak of the elegance of their scientific theories while being bankrupt of the true wisdom of God.  God turns the wisdom of such into foolishness.  God's wisdom is so much higher, pure, and altogether wonderful man's greatest discoveries or triumphs cannot compare.  All the intricate and amazing discoveries man makes today only add evidence to support the existence of God - not deny Him.

It is one thing to acknowledge God.  It is another thing altogether to know Him.  God has made this possible through the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus says, "No one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  If we seek to intimately know the Father, we do so only through the Son Jesus Christ.  What is the next thing Jesus says in the passage?  Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Science and philosophy alone cannot account for the fundamental needs and desires of human beings.  There are no suitable answers for the yearning God has placed in the human heart for love, acceptance, and life.  Jesus not only supplies answers, but He is the substance, the personification of God's wisdom made accessible to man.  Believing that God exists is the first step towards salvation found ultimately in Jesus Christ, a risen LORD and Saviour.

You believe God exists?  Then seek after Him with your whole heart.  God's Word promises in Deuteronomy 4:29, "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  He desires that you know Him and abide with Him forever!  That is a reason God has given us evidence of His existence.  May He open our eyes to see Him, our ears to hear Him, and our hearts to receive Him!