If God’s existence is evident, then why the aversion by so many to believe in him?

One reason is that many don’t feel that they need God. Adequate prosperity, accomplishment, acceptance, and self-sufficiency often negate the conscious need for God. Another reason is the apprehension of God’s requirements. We fear that if we acknowledge him, he might ask, or worse, demand, something from us. There is trepidation that the acceptance of God means required abstinence from the pleasures of life (particularly for the young); a demand to sacrifice time, energy, and money to him or organized religion; or the pressure to assume weird, socially unacceptable behavior in judging and forcing religion on others. Who would want to sign up for that? No one! But understand that these things are not true. The reality is that we all need a savior, and the burden of obedience is insignificant compared to the astounding magnitude of his blessings – both in this life and the next.

Though our instinct is to live under our own direction and to do as we please, if the conclusion stands that there must be a God, then it seems imperative to understand what that means for us individually. It could be that our instincts are wrong and that it is to our dramatic benefit to understand and to our tragic detriment to dismiss.

On the other hand, if we conclude there is no God of consequence, then what? If all this is a fluke of nature, then we are free to spend our lives chasing pleasure, comfort, and security. We should follow our hearts’ desires, achieve what we can, accumulate more stuff, love our families, crush our enemies, and maybe try to live a good life (though I am not sure why). Then comes death. You are gone, forgotten, and forever perished. What was the point? Maybe there isn’t one.

Do you buy that?