Acknowledging The Obvious

Sometimes we struggle to embrace what should be obvious. Here are some authentic, amusing headlines in respected newspapers and magazines that illustrate this point.

Here’s an example from the Los Angeles Times: Larger Kangaroos Leap Further, Researchers Find. The Hartford Courant reports: Alcohol Ads Promote Drinking. The Cornell Daily Sun reports: Study Finds Link Between Sex and Pregnancy. Here’s one from the New York Times: Survey Finds Dirtier Subways after Cleaning Jobs Were Cut. The Saint Augustine Record headlines read: Bible Church’s Focus is the Bible. The Journal of Commerce proclaims: Court Rules Boxer Shorts are Indeed Underwear. Finally, The Columbus Dispatch reports: Lack of Brains Hinders Research. 

Do you see what I mean by obvious? 

It’s always interesting to me why some people struggle to acknowledge God. The Bible says that God has made it evident to every person ever made that there is one true, living God. How did God do that? 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that God has set eternity into our hearts. So, God has put an awareness of our future eternal life in our hearts. The thoughts we have all had about God, eternity, and heaven are programmed into us by God, to make us aware of God. 

The book of Romans in the Bible, in Chapters 1-3, reveals the three ‘lights’ that God has given us to guide us in knowing God. Chapter 1 discusses the light of nature, Chapter 2 discusses the light of our conscience, and Chapter 3 discusses the light of the Gospel in God’s word.  

What does the light of nature mean? Romans 1 says that “God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that all men are without excuse.”

You see, God has made Himself known by what we can see. Have you ever looked at the multitude of stars on a clear night? Overwhelming. Have you ever looked at nature, the ocean, or the amazing living things God has made? God created nature, the earth, and the heavens to show us that there is one true God. Nature and created things are not God, but point the way to God.

Years ago, I officiated a wedding at the Snow Bowl ski area near Flagstaff, Arizona. The Snow Bowl is near the top of Arizona's 12,633-foot-high San Francisco Peaks. After the wedding, my wife, Becky, and our son, Jon, left the venue to head home. As we looked to the northwest, we were shocked, even awed, by the number of stars in the dark sky. At that elevation, you see the stars with clarity. I felt as if the universe surrounded me. Suddenly, I realized my 'smallness.' I was undone, wrecked by billions of stars, the Milky Way, and the shooting star that just flashed by, so close that I felt I could have reached out and touched it.  

Everyone could benefit from the same experience I had. It brings us perspective and reality. Ascend a high mountain, look at all the stars on a clear, moonless night, and ask yourself, "How big am I?" ‘Starry, starry’ nights speak to us, put us in our place, and remind us again of God’s greatness and what a miracle it is for us to be alive. You may have had an experience like this. Hint: It was God speaking to you through nature, giving you light that reveals that there really is God.   

What does the light of our conscience mean? Romans 2 reveals that God has given all human beings a conscience. Conscience is that inner faculty that indicates to us whether our actions are right or wrong, according to the standards in our hearts. Conscience attaches itself to the highest that a person knows. Conscience is in us to guide us toward what is best for us and others. Even people who don’t know God instinctively know to try to do good things. Conscience is a light divinely designed by God to reveal God and lead us to God.

As pastor/author Warren Wiersbe says: “You may stifle it, you might even quench it or defile it. But you will never be able to escape it. Your conscience will always be there, attaching itself to the highest standard you know. And the standard you adopt will determine whether you have a pure conscience or a defiled conscience, a good conscience or an evil conscience, a strong conscience or a weak conscience. As you increase your knowledge of God and exercise your conscience, you will live no longer by rules and regulations – but by the light of love and godly principles.”     

What does the light of the Gospel in Romans 3 mean? The Bible says that all have broken God’s laws, created for our benefit, and fall short of the glory of God. Why? Because we want to live by our own self-created laws. But God is righteous, and God requires righteousness. The light of the Gospel is that God gives righteousness so we can stand in the presence of God. How? Jesus came to pay the penalty for our shortcomings and to release us from our self-imposed prison. Our acceptance of what Christ did for us made it just as if I had never sinned. Jesus dying for our sins allowed God’s gift of amazing grace to flow to us, transferring us from our limited life to God’s unlimited life.  

My advice is to acknowledge and embrace the obvious. God made Himself known through nature, through our conscience, and through Christ and the good news of the Gospel as recorded in the Word of God. Lord, gently lead us, still precede us, guide us to your perfect light, through your perfectly revealed lights. 

After all, we all have eternity in our hearts – let’s acknowledge it and live forever like it!