300 years ago the vast majority of people on this earth would have never asked the question, does a god exist? But these days the perceived need for a god has diminished to the point that even some of those who claim to be followers, don’t really believe in a god’s existence. Since the advent of the scientific method, man has been desperately trying to understand everything about the world around us, so that ultimately he/she can control it.
When you look at man’s history, science is not a new idea; rather it’s a new method for the age-old pursuit to control and use the environment around us. When you really sit down and think about it, science (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) is the most recent attempt to understand, control, manipulate, and use the world around us. In other words, the original temptation of knowledge, to be like God, is at the heart of man’s pursuits today. The very thing that drove God and us apart then finds its way slowly and methodically creeping back into our lives thousands of years later. Do we still wonder why we can’t perceive the Father?
If we are not careful, we will find that above all else we value our independence by constantly striving to increase our knowledge, wealth, and power, only to find ourselves blinded, broken, and enslaved by the false gospel of a better life through our scientific pursuits.
Teens constantly struggle with their faith in God as they watch the world around them rapidly change and as the perceive God’s interaction with his beloved people to be less and less. It’s exactly what Jesus spoke to his disciples about in Matthew 13 when they asked Jesus about why he spoke in parables. It wasn’t a secret code that was only meant for a few, it was a story meant to shed light on a world that is unconscionable to some of the listeners. A story meant to describe something about the nature of the Kingdom of God that is so different than the nature of some of those listening.
As the world slowly distances itself from God, it becomes harder and harder for people to perceive things that are obvious like God’s presence in our lives. As our teens and youth grow up it is ever more important for us as followers of Christ to constantly reorient ourselves back to the Father as the world knocks us off course.
Does God Exist? Yes!!! Can you see Him? Can you hear Him? Can you feel Him? Is He relevant in your life? If you have never seen His presence, I pray your eyes may be opened. If you have never heard His voice, I pray your ears may learn to listen. If you have never felt his warm embrace, I pray that you may learn to love. And if you have never felt a need for Him in your life, I pray that your pride may be broken.
