What prevents you from following God?

Christian Studies in Year 12 at Northern Beaches Christian School looks a little different from other grades. Our year-long unit is titled Unanswered Faith Questions, where students vote on faith topics that require further explanation and clarification before they leave high school. We run fortnightly seminars, where some topics can be covered in a single session, while others may take up to five sessions if they are more complex.

The topic we are currently addressing is: There is not enough evidence for God.

It is a great question, and it should be asked. After all, blind faith can be dangerous. Before we begin with an onslaught of information, I ask the students two key questions to encourage honest reflection:

1. What evidence would satisfy you and give you certainty that God exists?

It is important to begin here. While it is a simple question, many students found it difficult to answer. Most had not taken the time to think about what they truly needed to see. When I pressed a student who said they would need to see a miracle, I asked, “What kind of miracle? And would that be enough?” The student replied, “I’d actually need another one.” He was not alone. Many other students still needed more, even if they received the very thing they thought they needed.

The follow-up question was perhaps even more challenging.

2. Imagine you received the very evidence you just asked for. Would you follow God?

Notice that the question was not, “Would you believe in God?” As it turns out, many said they still would not follow Him.

Interestingly enough, this happens more often than we might expect in the Bible. In the Book of Exodus, Israel witnesses God’s power as He rescues them from slavery in Egypt. Yet only weeks later, they build a golden calf and worship it. When we come to the New Testament, people often see Jesus perform miracles, yet not all follow Him. In fact, some want to kill Him. Even at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, the risen Jesus appears to His disciples, yet some still doubt.

Do you see the pattern? Seeing does not necessarily lead to following.

For many of our Year 12 students, there was a moment of realisation that a lack of evidence for God was not the primary obstacle preventing them from following Him. If that is not the real issue, then what is? When I pressed them further, comments such as, “I just want to do my own thing,” or, “I don’t want someone telling me what to do and living life in a box for the next 60 years,” were common.

As Christian educators, we need to present the evidence for God. But evidence alone is not enough. This seminar reminded us that we must also speak to the goodness and beauty of God, and help students see that the cost of following Him is worth it.

How would you answer the two questions above?

Damien Whitington
NBCS Senior Chaplain