I think it’s always important to keep a humble and open attitude to things. But . . . that said . . . nothing can or will ever sway me from the existence of Jesus, the world’s Messiah (i.e. Savior, Hero, King). I’ve encountered Him too many times, and there’s just no going back. To try and change my mind about this is like someone coming along to tell me that human beings really don’t have a blood-beating organ inside their chest.

“Nick, it’s all a lie to sell more heart medication (you know how those pharmaceutical companies work). The heart surgeons are in on it. The anatomy textbooks are all staged photos… And come on, have you ever seen your heart? How can you be so sure it’s there?

No, thank you. I believe all the people who have seen hearts inside of bodies. I believe I have a heart. And when I quiet myself enough, or put a hand on my chest, I can even feel it beating.

And, in more ways than one, it’s the same with Jesus…

Now, honestly, this isn’t meant to sound arrogant or stubborn, and it’s not coming from someone who’s got too much riding on an opinion. Yes, this is a belief that is deeply personal and based on experience, but it is also something that works so perfectly well with the world around me. In fact, three of the areas that are often used against the existence of Christ – science, spirituality, and suffering – have become the very bedrock that now undergirds my faith. Let me explain…

Science

Science is the easy one. Discoveries from the last century have proven more of God than ever before. The pride of the “enlightenment” is fading under the light of the quantum realm. We have found the weight, shape, and nuances of particles showcasing a universe that is unbelievably “fine-tuned.” And that’s not my language. That’s the description given by numerous agnostic and atheistic physicists and mathematicians, many of whom are desperately searching for alternative theories as to why our universe is so intricately tuned to host our specific kind of DNA.

On top of this, the commonly accepted “Big Bang” cosmology lines up with the biblical descriptions of how God fashioned the universe. And even evolution mirrors the poetic progression of creation found in Genesis 1. Science and Scripture are simply not at odds with each other. Though many still try and cast them as mortal enemies, the loud voices of such proponents are going to fade like echoes in the canyons of future discoveries.

Spirituality

What of other faith systems and religious beliefs? Well, before we even go there, it needs to be said that the existence of the mystical and the miraculous, the strange and the supernatural is beyond argument. Just because our scientific instruments can’t always capture these things does not mean they are not happening. (Think of using a fly swatter to catch and carefully examine the contents of the ocean.) There is obviously a spiritual dimension that most open-minded people have accepted. But of course, this leads to one of the bigger argument against Christ, which is what makes Him more special than any other spiritual belief?

In getting to know Jesus, I’ve come to see more and more how other religions and faiths are all windows looking at the same God through different stained-glass windows, some with more distorted “stains” than others. Jesus, however, is called the perfect image of God. He is the open window. He unveiled a perfect love that does not require sacrifice, but rather gives His own life as a “sacrifice” for us. Though we don’t appreciate it as much today, this act of sacrifice dealt a death-blow to the onslaught of pagan and polytheistic blood rituals that pervaded society. (And for those who say the Old Testament is in the same category with all of its corresponding blood rituals, you have to understand the Old Testament was a time when God entered into our mess to subvert it and transform it. Think of a secret agent joining a cartel to destroy it from the inside out.)

Besides this, I’ve also come to see (quite powerfully) that in the supernatural realm there are malevolent forces (spiritual darkness) that are actively working against the truth of Jesus and His expanding Kingdom of faith, hope, and love. They work to deceive people into false systems of worship. Some of these forces will even masquerade as false gods and manipulate people’s spirituality the same way human beings can manipulate other people’s emotions through acts of deception.

Suffering 

This leads to the final category. There is indeed something called evil that tries to wreak havoc in our world. I’ve come to a painful but crystal-clear conclusion that God is not the One giving cancer to children or causing poverty in inner cities and third-world countries. Rather, there is a fallen world system with dark forces at play that are manipulating the beautiful and terrifying gift humanity has been given: free will. As a result, the whole system is affected, whether it’s criminals or children. And this is “not good.” It is not God (from which our English word “good” comes). 

The fact that people even complain about “evil” in the world is further proof that there is an external, transcendent thing called Good and Evil, or Right and Wrong. This leads to another conclusion: there is, in fact, a moral dimension behind our universe. Like the heart beyond a person’s skin and ribcage, there is something beyond the mathematics and chemistry of our universe. 

On a personal note, I’ll also say that suffering has become an opportunity to draw closer to Jesus in His suffering. Though it doesn’t always make the pain go away, there is something life-giving in the realization that God has not abandoned us, but joins us in our pain and suffers with us.

And for those of us who are still angry at God, this is much different than saying He doesn’t exist. He does exist and that’s what makes suffering so confusing. But one day, all things will come into harmony. And this is the hope of Jesus’s resurrection. That moment was the “first-fruit” of a coming harvest of harmonious healing. And when people embrace faith and gratitude, this harvest begins to spill out into the present world. In fact, while humanity builds their foundation upon economics, technology, and ingenuity, God is inviting people into a new kind of world built upon faith, hope, and love. This requires a temporary allowance of suffering, but it is leading to a glorious outcome, better than anything we can build on our own. 

Final Thoughts 

The reality of Jesus Christ stands on a firm foundation: spiritually, scientifically, and socially. But I’ll add a closing thought here… There is a fourth pillar that this reality rests upon, and that is “faith” itself. In the end, we cannot prove God’s existence. Though these things have become so beautifully clear to me (I once was blind, but now I see), I have had to take a leap of faith in my own life before I encountered this bedrock foundation. And I invite anyone reading this into that same leap.

It is beyond worth it.