How to Respond to "I Can’t Believe This" “I can’t believe.” That’s the sentiment of people who have a specific intellectual or emotional issue that has halted their headway toward God. It’s expressed by: - The physician who says, “I can’t believe the Bible because it conflicts with modern science.”
- The mother of a sick child who says, “I can’t believe in a God who permits my son to suffer when so many evil people seem to be successful.”
- The lawyer who says, “I’m used to dealing with evidence and facts; I can’t believe in something that we’re asked to accept purely on faith.”
- The corporate executive who says, “I prayed that my business would get through its crisis, but it’s going down the tubes. I can’t believe in a God who ignores my call for help.”
Since I’m more of a “thinker” than a “feeler,” I especially enjoy helping people get past intellectual roadblocks. Many times, their questions are very specific. For instance, on Good Friday of 1990, a successful attorney came into my office to discuss spiritual matters. He had been checking out Christianity for six months, and the question that had stymied him was “How can I be sure that I can trust the Bible?” That’s a legitimate question, and we discussed it for about three hours. Finally, there was a pause, and I said, “Do you have another question?” “I guess I could go on forever asking questions about side issues,” he said, “but really, my main questions have been answered. I suppose now the issue is, ‘What am I going to do with all of this?’” He had jumped a hurdle concerning the reliability of Scripture, and now he was ready to deal with the Gospel. In discussing spiritual matters with unchurched friends, often I’ll ask, “Is there a specific question or concern that’s hanging you up in your spiritual journey?” That inquiry helps them focus with clarity on what’s really blocking their path to God. Once they’re able to articulate the question, then we can begin to find answers so they can continue onward toward Christ. To help them picture their situation, sometimes I’ll modify something Pascal once said and describe for them the three basic camps of people in the world. There is: - Camp A, which consists of people who have found God;
- Camp B, which is composed of people who are seeking God and will find Him;
- Camp C, for people who aren’t seeking God.
I tell unchurched friends that there’s no advantage to being in Camp C. Unless God does something dramatic, as He did when he transformed Saul of Tarsus into Paul the evangelist, Camp C is a dead end. So I encourage them to pull up their stakes, most to Camp B, and sincerely search for the truth about God. And, of course, we know from Scripture that anyone who’s sincerely in Camp B will eventually end up in Camp A. This week's essay is drawn from "Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary" by Lee Strobel. |
No comments:
Post a Comment