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A Thought and a PrayerProverbs 8: 17 states:
"I love those who love me, Approximately one thousand years later, Jesus of Nazareth reiterated and underscored the wisdom of that Old Testament verse when He said: "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7: 7,8) As a Christian I am persuaded that ultimately the Author of both of these statements ... these verses...is the same Person. I am also persuaded that this Person is the Creative Author and Designer of Life itself, and that He has further revealed Himself truly through the prophets and the apostles in real space, real time and in real history. I am convinced that this Author can be known, fully trusted, and that, indeed He is the truth, the life and the way (see John 14:6). Skeptics would deny this, of course...but I read something several years ago written by Christian philosopher and teacher, Peter Kreeft, that has stuck with me; I would like to share his thoughts with you. "This claim--that all seekers find--is testable by experience, by experiment. If you are an honest scientist, here is a way to find out whether Christianity is true or not. Perform the relevant experiment. To test the hypothesis that someone is behind the door, knock. To test the Christian hypothesis that Christ is behind the door, knock. "How do you knock? Pray! Tell Christ you are seeking the truth,---seeking him, if he is the truth. Ask him to fulfill his promise that all who seek him find him. In his own time, of course. He promised that you would find, but he didn't promise a schedule. He's a lover, not a train. "But you may reply---'I don't know whether Christ is God. I don't even know whether there is a God.' That's all right; you can pray the prayer of the skeptic:
"If Christianity is true, He will. Such a prayer constitutes a scientifically fair test of the Christian 'hypothesis'---that is, if you do not put unfair restrictions on God, like demanding a miracle (your way, not his) or certainty by tomorrow (your time, not his). The demand that God act like your servant is hardly a scientifically fair test of the hypothesis that there is a God who is your king. "But all the king asks for at first is honesty . Honesty is a choice of the will--the choice to seek the truth no matter where or what. This is the most momentous choice you can make. It is the choice of light over darkness, ultimately heaven over hell. Honesty is infinitely more momentous than we often think. It is also much harder than we think. Our culture trivializes honesty into merely 'sharing our feelings', telling others about the state of our nerve ends. That's not the opposite of dishonesty, that's just the opposite of shame or shyness. "Shallow honesty seeks 'sharing', deep honesty seeks
Truth. |
