Several weeks ago on Facebook a post was being shared that questioned why atheists who believe in no god insist on attacking and mocking Christians. Why does it bother them that we Christians believe as we do? Maybe God put them here to serve as “belief strengtheners” for all Christians. That post reminded me of an early Facebook experience I had with an atheist and I’d like to share it with you. Read on to discover how Facebook posts from an atheist provided me the opportunity to grow in my Christian faith.
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Why would an old guy like me want to be on Facebook? Technology had left me behind in a cloud of megabytes and I just thought Facebook might improve my technology skills. Besides I had taught biology and environmental science for forty-two years so there was an ample supply of potential friends out there in Facebook land.
My daughter led me through the signup steps and in mere minutes I was a member. Another example of how having children in your life continues to be a blessing and benefit long after they are grown. Almost immediately I began getting friend requests. Teachers and students from my past began requesting me to befriend them. That’s when I heard from Butch(not his real name).
Butch had been my student over thirty years ago. He had also been a member of the cross country team that I had coached. His family and mine attended the same church where I was Butch’s catechism teacher. So I was delighted to have reconnected with him.
I learned that Butch was now a college drama and art professor. However, it didn’t take long after reading Butch’s posts to discover that he was also an atheist and proud of it. Post after post proclaimed his belief (or should that be unbelief).
I had been living a pretty cushy Christian life up to that point. My faith had gone pretty much unchallenged. Over the years I had visited with atheists about their views but those visits were not as forceful, challenging or ongoing as Butch’s Facebook posts. As the weeks passed the posts encouraging atheism continued. I often read my Facebook posts late at night before going to bed. Many nights I went to sleep preparing a rebuttal for a disturbing post and if the post was particularly disturbing sleep did not come easily.
I guess I would have to say his posts rocked my world. They caused me to reflect on my own beliefs as I asked myself why I believed as I did. What kept going through my head was the plea, “I believe Lord, but help my unbelief.”
Then God brought the word “billboards” to my mind and I puzzled over the importance of that word for several days. Slowly it became clearer to me, however. Billboards are posted along the highway to Heaven to remind us that God is real. They are designed to enlighten and strengthen our faith when doubt creeps in or when a non-believer challenges our thinking.
Immediately I knew what the first billboard would be. Our universe with the stars, sun and the earth itself has served as a billboard since the beginning of time. Its awesome beauty and magnificent design has caused many past civilization to recognize the presence of a god or gods. Consequently many religions and forms of worship arose throughout human history.
Of course the biology teacher in me made recognizing the next billboard quite easy. God intended the great variety of animals, plants and microorganisms filling the niches of our earth’s habitats to be a billboard announcing His presence too. Their variety, complexity and adaptability fill us with wonder. Even if scientists feel living things arrived by some evolutionary process this ‘simple to complex’ procedure could not have occurred without an ‘Intelligent Designer’. God expects us to draw that common sense conclusion and I’m constantly amazed how difficult that is for some people to recognize.
Then there is the Bible. If we were asked to keep some written word intact for over 4000 years how successful would we be? The Bible has survived that test and much more. Besides being a history book it serves as God’s guide for us to know how we should live on the earth. Interwoven in its pages are the prophetic announcements each predicting the arrival of Jesus who would die for us on the cross. Even today we recognize its end time’s descriptions and marvel at their accuracies to date.
No person or group of persons could have written such a complex piece of literature and then ensured that it be passed down unchanged to the present time. God meant this book to he His second most important billboard. Of course God’s most important billboard was the sending of Jesus to earth to die for our sins and rise again so all believers may have eternal life.
Another billboard that I have drawn particular strength from arises from Christian radio, television, videos and books. Through these avenues I am able to hear testimonies of fellow Christians. What a billboard testimonies can be.
Miracles of all kinds are taking place all over the world. Diseases are cured, bones grow, sight returns, hearing is restored and even the dead are raised. Now those are real testimonies! Many people are experiencing visions of angels and some even see Jesus Himself. Near-death experiences allow individuals to visit Heaven and return to tell us about it. Several times young children have reported visiting Heaven and meeting a brother or sister that they never knew they had. Sharing this experience with their mother they discover that their mother had suffered a miscarriage which the child was not aware of.
Can you imagine an atheist arriving at the ‘pearly gates’ as St. Peter says, “Sorry, you can’t enter. Only believers are allowed.” I can hear the atheist sputtering, “What? I didn’t know there was a God. Why wasn’t that made clearer?”
St. Peter would smile and reply, “God’s creation, the universe and the water-rich planet earth teeming with living things was meant to announce to you God’s presence. Then he inspired a book called the Bible to really make things clear. And after He sent his Son, Jesus, to die for your sins God continued to send people among you to witness of His presence through healings, teaching and prophesy. It appears you overlooked all of these billboards.”
Our atheist friend would have no other choice then to turn and walk sadly away.
I want to say a special thank you to my atheist Facebook friend for rocking my faith-world so God could remind me of His billboards. Every morning I try to start my day out with a scripture reading and prayer. When I do I always say a prayer for my atheist friends. I ask that they may recognize God’s billboards and have the courage to ask God into their lives.
This morning I smiled as I read the timely scripture Matthew 7:13-14 which describes the two roads we can travel on our journey in life. The broad road that leads to destruction or the narrow road that leads to life. Keep God’s billboards close to your heart to ensure that your travels will be on that narrow road to life! 🙂
Until next time. 🙂
