SPIRIT ON THE SAIL
Epilogue
Experience Proves God Exists
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One last affectionate glance assures me that Chubasco is secure in her slip. “I'll miss you until we are on the water again, dear old friend.”
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Strolling toward the ramp, I wonder, “How can I summarize my discovery in a sentence or two? Patsy will be picking me up soon and I can hardly wait tell her all about it."
“Let’s see…”God’s existence is universally observable, and universally verifiable. Therefore, God’s reality is empirically defensible. Even those, who refuse to recognize Him, will see or have seen Him, within. The dismissal of God’s perceptible presence within, for that reason, is inexcusable. I suppose, that is what Jesus meant when He said,
“That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;” Mark 4:12
The Bible calls this condition, “a calloused heart,” and repeats this allegation of spiritual blindness in; Isaiah 6:9, Mathew 13:13, and Acts 28:26.
It occurs to me, that recognition of God within is more than a twist on the medieval Ontological argument. That ancient argument for God’s existence rests on "the concept” of God, rather than on an observation of God, Himself. Frankly it's a well worn argument, which today is seen as an invalid argument wrapped in a brain teaser.
(Basically stated it claims that -
A greatest of any class-of-being,
must exist.
· If God is the greatest of His class-of-beings,
· Then God must exist.)
Not only that, but first-hand experience claims that God‘s appearance within is universally observable. Unlike a "theophany," which is an observed manifestation or appearance of God witnessed outside the observer by a few, experiencing God's manifestion within means each and every person is an intended observer.
First-hand experience of God, is neither an argument nor an evidence. Therefore, it is irrefutable, and for that reason cannot be dismissed on logical grounds nor rejected for lack of evidence...no matter the opposing belief-system.
It is actually a proposition. A proposition with built in precondition. It demands that detractors investigate the truth in a specified personal manner for themselves. The skeptic must personally. In doing so, they must accept or reject the challenge. To do so, they unavoidably agree that they do indeed have spiritual sight. Eyes that when wholeheartedly focused on God within will see Him.
It promises that while looking within oneself, the observer will see, either God's nature or moral authority or both. However, recognizing God as God depends on the seeker’s willingness to acknowledge the sighting, as God, Himself. That acknowledgement is called faith.
When the attempt is sincere, it will produce self-evident results. Naturally, any attempt made without a willingness to acknowledge the resulting experience is God, Himself, have not met the precondition...namely faith. Hebrews puts it this way,
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“(F)or he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Heb. 11:6 b KJV
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Even for those resistant to the precondition, the statement that “God exists” remains an irrefutable claim. The proposition stands in the face of the accusation that, as Christians, we are victims of an un-provable belief-system.
Sharing Today's Good News
Loaded with my newly formulated proof, I'm fully armed as Patsy pulls into the marina parking lot. Tossing my seabag in the back I receive her welcoming kiss, I take my place in the passenger seat, and we head for home
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PATSY - “How did our sail go this morning?”
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ME - “Great! You know how we tend to counter arguments against our faith with our personal testimony. Then, when accused of making unsubstantiated claims, we put the Bible forward as our supporting evidence. That automatically derails the discussion, which degenerates into opinions about Biblical fallibility.”
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PATSY – “So, that’s how the sail went…?”
ME - “I’m sorry, sweetheart; I am really pumped about this. I’ve been looking for proof of God, but God is His own proof. What’s more, after today, when faced with opposing believe-system arguments, I know not to insist that my believes are right.”
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PATSY – “Really John, are we doing this all the way home?”
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ME – “I’m sure you agree, we have always known, our opposition is never really about lifestyle differences, or simply mindset disagreements, not even conflicts over worldviews, but now, I don’t think they are really belief-system clashes either. We need to bypass those topics, because they are distractions from the person seeing God Himself, within them. Those sidetracks only produce foolish arguments (2 Tim 2:23-25).
Christian opposition is actually a missed perception, basses on a misperceptions. We should not argue to correct an incorrect belief-system. That approach only creates more resistance. Rather, we should be challenging people to experience their own first-hand encounter with God within themselves. The key to correcting belief-systems, worldviews, mindsets, or lifestyles is experiencing God living within each if us.”
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PATSY - “So what’s new about that? I think of it more as hearing God than seeing Him. It’s spiritual deafness. ‘Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.’ It’s the voice of God, you hear in your heart.”
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ME – “That’s it. In fact, just before that verse in Romans, it says, ‘The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ So, God’s Spirit is present in the heart.”
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PATSY- “Christians know that?
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ME - “No, I’m saying the moral imperative we hear and selfless love we sense within, are not just divine character traits. In their purest from, they are God.” (John 1:1 “The Word was God.” 1 John 4:8 “God is Love.”) Of course He is more than what we can see or hear, but we can see and hear Him.
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“Think about it. The Word and Love are not just His footprints left as evidence of Him passing through our lives. They are actually the spiritual substance of His person... God’s recognizable reality inside. He has not only come in His flesh, but even more significantly, He has come in our flesh. (2 John 4:2) These are not just qualities of the Holy Spirit or personifications of His nature. They are manifestations of His person. When we sense one of these two in our life and heart we are observing God.”
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PATSY-“My goodness, are you ever worked up.”
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ME- “I think the recognition of God within is the critical experience necessary for a genuine belief-change. What's more, it is the first-hand proof of the reality of God’s existence.”
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PATSY- “Whatever, you say dear. I’ve got some fish thawed at home…Salmon. Doesn’t that sound good?”
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ME- “I am really hungry…but, honey…I think God’s Spirit is being ignored daily by the human race, and often by us Christians, even though His Godhead and Eternal Power are exposed within us all.” (Romans 1:20)
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PATSY- “You know what?...I believe something you told me, long ago.”
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ME- “Yah, what’s that?”
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PATSY- (In a declarative tone that announces the end of the discussion, she quotes my old refrain.)
“Every believer is allowed at least one heresy.”
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ME - “OK then.”
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I will just save the rest for a better time. After all, when you lose an audience, more talking seldom wins them back. Maybe, I will write a blog or something. captjbeppler@blogspot.com SPIRIT ON THE SAIL, 9/26/2015 (chapters 1-10)
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ME- “Well, this morning’s voyage was amazing.”
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Even though tired enough to nap, I am too excited to close my eyes, as San Diego streaks past the window thinking, “Wow, what a passage.”
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