CONCLUSION
Is the Case for God Compelling?
In the foregoing pages, dear reader, you may have found some evidence of an infinitely powerful and wise God who created all that there is. In the creation and in many ways, he has revealed himself to mankind, and ultimately in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Would you consider the implications of the existence of a God who is in control of all things, a God of love and of justice and of mercy?
One thing that should not require evidence and should commend itself to anyone’s attention, is that life is short. Even if one lives a long life, the journey from the cradle to the grave is frightfully short.
If, then, there is a God who created us and who has revealed himself, should that not be an outstanding ground for us to notice him? If, after a life that can only be described as brief, even fleeting, there is the next world, Gods world, an eternal world, should we not enquire of this God?
Meaning and Purpose in Life?
At the very beginning of this study some questions were raised. Let’s look at a few of those types of questions.
Is there purpose to my life beyond the things of this world? Yes, my Creator has great purposes for me in this world.
How do I find these purposes? I enter into a living relationship with the living God.
Am I here for comfort, pleasure and entertainment? No.
What will happen to the record of my life? Every person will give an account to God.
If there is a world beyond this one, should I know about it? Yes.
Should I prepare for it? Yes.
Eternity lies in wait for me, either with God in his wonderful promises, or separated from him.
Some Final Thoughts
The famous French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) wrote: “Man is born free but is everywhere in chains.” I would re-cast this as: “Man is born in chains but can be set free.”
Here are a few selected thoughts from some well-known Christian thinkers of our time.
Timothy Keller writes:
“As we have noted, religion is properly seen as the enemy of freedom … (it is thought that) we should be free to believe or live as we choose. But the reality is that we are none of us free agents. We are all worshipping and serving something. The better question is this: Which “master” will affirm, cherish, empower, and honour us, and which ones will exploit and abuse us?
If there is no God, you will have to turn some created thing into a god to worship, and whatever that thing is, it will punish you with inner fears, resentment, guilt, and shame if you fail to achieve it … “The fact that so much external success didn’t deliver what I had always imagined it would, left me feeling empty and bewildered … More and more is required to obtain the same high, and the compulsion of the pursuit prompts a growing sense of the despair … it is meant to solve.
If there is a God, he created usWe were built to know, serve and love God. If we try to live for anything else, it leads to slavery, but when we begin to live for God and follow his will, we find that we are actually becoming who we were meant to be, realizing our original design.” {60}
Melvin Tinker writes:
“We have called this book ‘A Lost God in a Lost World’ because in the West an awareness of the real God has been lost and replaced by idolatrous thoughts with the result that people are lost, that is, they become disorientated, dissatisfied, and detached from God and so from reality.
It is not coincidental that this “loss of God” and “loss of reality” has gone hand in hand with a loss in the belief in heaven and hell – the ultimate realities.
But as we have seen, those who have great thoughts of God and great visions of the realities to come have been the most productive in this world.” {61}
J I Packer writes:
“Well might God say through Jeremiah: ‘Let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me,’ (Jeremiah 9:24) for knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a person’s heart.
What happens is that the almighty Creator, the Lord of hosts, the great God before whom the nations are as a drop in a bucket, comes to you and begins to talk to you through the words and truth of Holy Scripture.
You come to realize as you listen that God is actually opening his heart to you, making friends with you, and enlisting you as a colleague …” {62}
Dear reader, this brings our study to a close. If you would like to explore further, I would encourage you to attend a local Christian church, and not to hesitate to make an appointment to chat to the pastor or minister. They are there to welcome you and to discuss any questions that you may have. Ask to be introduced to a member of the church who can help you to find your way around, or who is knowledgeable about the Bible and who can help you learn more about God.