Believing Isn’t Rocket Science

Bible Reading: Matthew 28:1-7

He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Matthew 28:6

A man and a woman wearing lab coats enter a laboratory. She holds a clipboard and pencil, and he clasps a small white rectangular object. The man puts the white object in a small glass tank filled with water. It bobs to the surface. The woman makes a note on her clipboard. The man again pushes the object to the bottom of the tank. It again bobs to the surface. The woman writes.

After performing the event over and over, the scientists come to a stunning con­clusion: Ivory soap floats. It has been proven scientifically.

True or false: A science experiment is the only way to prove if a fact is true.

That’s absolutely false. The scientific method is a great tool for getting smart, but it isn’t the only way to prove something.

If science experiments were the only way to get at truth, then you wouldn’t be able to prove that Abraham Lincoln was ever president of the United States. But just because Honest Abe’s presidency can’t be proven in a laboratory doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. It can be proven with a different kind of evidence.

It’s the kind of proof offered every day in law courts around the world, and it’s the only kind of proof that applies to events in history. So how could you prove that Abraham Lincoln was president? You would provide evidence.

If you could find eyewitnesses, you would interview them. That’s “oral testi­mony.” You would gather copies of letters that Lincoln wrote, newspapers that re­ported on him, and books about him. That’s “written testimony.” You would offer exhibits of items such as his pocket watch, photographs of him and his birthplace, even his sugar bowl. That’s “physical testimony.” With that mountain of evidence, nobody has a problem believing in Abraham Lincoln.

That’s called the “evidential” or “historical” method of proof, and it’s how we can prove the resurrection of Christ. We can’t gather any oral evidence, because no one is still alive from the first century. But we have the writtenevidence of the disciples in the Bible and the physical evidence of the empty tomb.

Your faith in Christ isn’t blind. It’s not stupid. The life and ministry of Jesus, his miracles, and his resurrection can be proven—and they have been. You can be sure of your faith—by the evidence!

TALK: How would you respond to someone who said you can’t prove the truth of the Christian faith?

PRAY: God, thanks for giving us a faith that we can be sure about.

ACT: Quiz each other later today or tomorrow: What three kinds of testimony count in the “evidential” method of proof?

The Game of Life

Bible Reading: Isaiah 64:4-5

You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who follow godly ways.   Isaiah 64:5

SUPPOSE YOU HAVE the opportunity to make up a game. You design your own playing board. You make playing pieces out of little trinkets you find around the house. You even write down the rules.

Then two of your friends come over. You spread the playing board on the floor. You carefully explain the rules of the game. Then you generously allow someone else to take the first turn.

Everything goes fine for a while. The game is even more fun than you thought. But then one of your friends makes an illegal move.

“You can’t do that,” you say. “Remember the rules?”

“I don’t agree with your rules. I think the game will work better if I get to use my own rules.”

“Hey,” your other friend says, “if you get to make up rules, I should get to make up rules.”

“But I already told you what the rules are!” you say. But it’s too late. Your friends aren’t listening. They’re playing by their own rules. And they’re not even having fun. By the end of the afternoon, they’ve gotten into several fights. When they finally leave, they’re not talking to each other or to you!

How would that make you feel? It would be a bummer, wouldn’t it? Well, if you can imagine how that might feel, you can imagine how God feels. After all, he created the universe and everything in it. He placed people on this earth and gave them everything they need to live. He even told them the “rules of the game.” But some people don’t agree with his rules. They think they should be able to make up their own rules. Others try to convince themselves he never gave any rules in the first place. And some just ignore his rules.

But not only are people wrong when they do that, they also cheat themselves. If they’d just play according to the rules, they’d be a lot better off—and they’d have a lot more fun, too. We all would!

REFLECT: How do you think God feels when people ignore his commands and try to make up their own “rules” for life? Do you think people would be better off (and have more fun) if they lived according to God’s commands? Why or why not?

ACT: Play a game like Monopoly with your family or friends, and imagine what the game would be like if everyone ignored the rules.

PRAY: “Lord, you’re a wonderful God. You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who follow godly ways. Help me to be like that and not like those who ignore or disobey your loving commands.”