Why Believe In God? "Hope"

by: Gary L. Hutchens

​   Most people believe in God. But, as noted in previous articles in this series, there are those who disbelieve- atheists,- and there are others who doubt- agnostics and skeptics.  There are a great many more whose belief in God is less than solid.  Atheists, agnostics and skeptics would pretty much disregard the proofs for God’s existence contained in the Bible.  But some who are still in the process of developing a firm, absolute faith in God might also find it difficult to place full confidence in scripture.  That’s unfortunate since the teachings of scripture are the basis from which faith develops (Rom. 10:17).

   These articles have attempted to use points of logic to demonstrate the reasonableness of believing in God as the divine creator.  The creation itself is powerful evidence of the reality of God.  Design demands a designer.
   The spiritual essence within humankind is another strong indicator that God is our creator.  Man is remarkably different from all other life, not just from the perspective of his superior intellect but, more importantly, due to the realization that only man bears an inherent moral nature.  God created man, and man alone, in God’s own image with a fundamental spiritual identity.
   A third logical reason to believe in God is the abundant hope that such faith brings (Acts 24:15; Rom. 15:13) and the total absence of hope without it.  God has provided guidance into that hope through His word (Rom. 15:4).  If God does not exist, however, then this life is certainly a pitiable existence (1 Cor. 15:19).  The hope that comes with faith in God is not a wild wish; it is desire coupled with expectation.  It is assurance and promise, and as such it serves as “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Heb. 6:19).
   Many hard core disbelievers would scoff at and demean such an idea.  But disbelievers have absolutely nothing to offer by way of hope.  Without God, what is this life about?  Without the hope of eternal life, what direction does this life offer?  Without that spiritual essence that goes with having been created in God’s image, what meaning is there in this life?  What purpose to it?  What fulfillment does it offer?
   The disbeliever may offer philosophical platitudes, but without God they’re just empty words, void of any real meaning.  Without God, man is no better inherently than a dog or a cow or a rat.  Without God, human life has no greater intrinsic meaning than that of a cockroach.  Without God, a human dying simply means food for the worms.  It is, essentially, inconsequential.  Without God, any attempt to define goodness breaks down in futility, for there is no rational basis for goodness without God.  Without God, man is just another beast without hope, and the world is a jungle.
   How blessed we are to have been created in the image of the Creator Himself!  How assuring and fulfilling to be able to live life with meaning, purpose, direction and HOPE!…
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