How do I know He's real?
That’s a question many people are asking their selves and others. How can you be sure that a big and invisible God really exists? The disciples of Jesus had the same problem. When Jesus was 30 years of age, when He called His disciples, He took them with Him everywhere He went. In the three years that followed, they all saw Him do great signs and miracles. The sick were being healed, the lame walked again, blind men started to see, dead people came alive and even demons were casted out. They all witnessed it, saw it with their own eyes and believed He was the Son of God. Yet the time came that Jesus was crucified and died at the cross. That was the moment that the world of the disciples collapsed.
Even though they saw Him do all those great things, now He was dead. Their Lord died upon the cross, the most humiliating way to die in that time. Even the Bible told them that anyone who hangs on a tree was cursed (Deuteronomy 21:22,23). They had an awesome time with Jesus and suddenly it ended like this. They couldn’t believe it and yet they had to accept it. Now Jesus was gone, they didn’t knew what to do anymore. But suddenly something happened…
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:19-23
Can you imagine that? They saw Him die upon the cross and suddenly He stood in their midst! That must have a great shock for them. But then there was Thomas, who was not with them when Jesus appeared to them. He also saw all the signs and miracles, great stuff, but he also saw Jesus die upon the cross. All that time he believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but now that he saw Him die, he wasn’t that sure anymore. He started to doubt. He no longer could believe that Jesus was the Son of God. How was it possible for the Son of God to die? So you can imagine what he must have thought when the other disciples told him that they saw Jesus…
Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24-29
Finally Thomas realized that Jesus really was alive and that He really was the Son of God. But Jesus also gave him a very important key, a key that applies to our lives as well.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
In the natural world, most people want to see first before they believe. In the spiritual world it goes the other way around. If you believe that God exists and Jesus is the Son of God, then you will see enough proof of that in the life as a Christian that follows. But… Jesus also said that signs and miracles are being done to help the unbelievers believe. That’s why He did all these miracles, not to impress anyone. Those signs and miracles are not happening everywhere or everyday. Mainly because many Christians don’t believe in it and that’s when it stops working, but still they do happen all over the world. The same Jesus that raised the dead, is still raising the dead these days. Yes, there are official reports of people who were pronounced dead and who came back to life when Christians called them back in the name of Jesus. Same story for the blind who start to see, the lame who start to walk etc. Where does this all happen? As I said, it happens all over the world. When you search on Youtube, you can even find videos of it, but there are also documentary movies which are showing all the signs and miracles that are happening these days. If you want to see a few of these movies, I can recommend the movies “Finger of God” and “Furious Love” to you. Both movies are made by Darren Wilson.
I used to be very skeptical towards all this. I used to be one of those who want to see first before they believe. From my own experience I can tell you that He is real. I became a Christian in 1999 and since that time I saw so many things happen in my life and in the lives of the people around me, that I can only conclude that He is real. When I was a child, my father gave me my first Bible. He wasn't a super Christian and at times he was far from a perfect dad, but at the first page of that Bible he wrote something that I will never forget:
To my beloved son Robin.
For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
At that time I wasn’t a Christian, in fact after that time I would do many wrong things until I finally surrendered my life to Jesus. But after all these years of being a Christian, I can now tell you that the Bible text he wrote at that first page of my first Bible is very true. Indeed He is a rewarder for those who diligently seek Him. I challenge you to give it a change and to seek God. I pray that you may find Him and that your life will be changed forever.
