26 July 2010
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! This is the southbound train to San Jose, and this is the Davis stop. We have a packed train today, so please find a seat as soon as possible.
Yes—it sure was crowded indeed, and with three bags and not enough hands, as well as three boys whom I had to keep an eye on, it was a nightmare trying to find seats last Friday on the Amtrak train.
Finally, we found seats at the end of the train and I found myself facing a pleasant looking lady with a binder, backpack, and Greek salad sprawled out about her.
“I’m sorry, but may I sit here?”
“Oh of course!”
And she hastened to make room for me in the seat beside her. After a few seconds, a conversation quickly snow balled and introductions were soon made. I learned that she was a UC Davis student who was traveling home to visit her younger sister for her birthday, and I explained that I was traveling to the Bay Area for my youth group and that my dad was a pastor. Fifteen minutes after leaving Davis, I realized that we were still talking at about 100 miles an hour, and we discovered that we were both extreme extroverts. One topic led to another, until I felt led to ask her:
“May I ask what religion your family practices?”
“Oh, my family is Greek Orthodox, but we’re not very devout even though my whole family has been baptized.”
Our conversation continued to unravel, and we began expounding on the topic of religion, and I found that she had many questions regarding Christianity and life. She began by asking,
“What do you think of the creation of the world? Do you believe in evolution? Or the Big Bang theory? Or a mixture of both?”
“Well, there are two different types of evolution argued by scientists—macro-evolution and micro-evolution. I do not believe in macro-evolution, which is the evolution of entire species forming from another species, like humans from monkeys. However, I believe in micro-evolution, which is the change of characteristics within a given species. I do believe that God the Creator created everything. I do not believe that everything came into existence on accident.”
“Now upon what basis do you believe that?”
“Well, let’s sa
y everything did come from a single amino acid, as many evolutionists claim. Where did that single amino acid come from? It had to have come from somewhere! Furthermore, the factors of which life can exist, for example, the placement of our solar system within the spirals of our galaxy, or the placement of our planet Earth within just our solar system, is so perfectly set for sustaining life that there is no way it could have come about by chance. There are so many different factors that even if one was slightly changed, life could not exist. The number is so great that it is 1 followed by so many zeroes it could cover entire sets of encyclopedias!”
“Yes, that is true…”
“I honestly think that it takes greater faith to believe that life is all an accident and is meaningless than to have faith in a God who created everything and is orchestrating everything behind the scenes.”
“Now that is an interesting statement! Wow….” And here I could just see the clog works of her mind churning and she seemed to be lost in thought. After a few moments, she turned to me again and said,
“So you think that everything is done for a reason? You think God has everything planned? Because then why did God create bad?!? And isn’t God just controlling us like puppets, then?”
“No, God did not create bad.”
“He did—he created Satan, didn’t he?”
“Yes he did, but he did not create bad. He created Satan, but Satan chose to do bad. God creates good things that turn bad. God created us humans to do good, but he also gave us free will and the choice to make out own decisions, which was his ultimate proclamation of love. He didn’t strap us to chairs and tell us what to do. So no, he is not controlling us. Hence the reason why evil continues to exist in the world.”
“Then what do you think is the purpose of life? Why did God even create us if we’re not going to even do what he intended? What is the purpose of going through all the suffering of this world? Why do we have to?”
“Well, let’s say we were all perfect creatures, and we were all just with God in heaven for all eternity, without ever experiencing life here on earth. We didn’t do anything wrong, and we all lived in harmony and glory. God would not have the chance to show us how great his love is for us—we would have no opportunity to come to him, to have a relationship with him, because we wouldn’t need him at all. I believe the purpose of life is to come closer to him through a relationship.”
“Then if God really does love us, why does he allow suffering?” She shared with me how one of her younger sisters had gone through a serious disease several years back which had almost caused her to lose her sister, and the question of her sister’s suffering had troubled her for so long.
“Well, through suffering, we are able to come closer to God. If everything was going fine and dandy, how would we grow closer to him? It is through suffering and pain, we are able to grow and get closer to him. Just as in relationships, hard times evoke the strongest points in relationships in which both grow, so does suffering bring us closer to God. Now, God does not wish pain and suffering upon us. But, he allows it to happen, because he wants what is best for us.”
“Yeah, that is true…” And she explained to me how she realized even within her own family and within her own sister’s life, there had been so much growth and strength which grew from that hard time. She grew silent for a time, and after a few moments turned to me once again and said,
“So then if God knew all this…all this evil was going to happen in the world, then why didn’t he just send Jesus into the world before? Why did he wait so long?”
“Well, God is a merciful God, and in the Old Testament you can see how many times he tried over and over again to bring his people back through prophets like Jonah did for Ninevah. God knew all along that Jesus was going to have to come and save us from our sins, but he still wanted to give us a chance. But, in his perfect timing and will, his plan unfolded.”
“So you think there is a reason for everything? You really think there has been a plan all along? Because I have a really hard time believing that all things—all aspects of life past and present relate together.”
“Yes, I do. I think we all have an omnipotent, omniscient, and loving God who has a master plan in which we all fit.”
“Yeah, I guess….like I think this talk with you was planned. See, I just barely missed the earlier train…by one minute. If I had made it onto that train, I wouldn’t be here right now talking to you…” she chuckled, “Maybe he wanted me to talk to you today…”
Wow! Hearing her say that blew my own mind away! The fact was I had almost gone on the next later train to the Bay Area, and if I had, I would not be sitting there in Car 1 of the southbound train talking to this precious soul. And it hit me so afresh that, wow, God really does have a reason for everything!
By that time, we had reached her final destination, and as she prepared to leave, I gave her a resource which I myself found very helpful—a lecture by Rob Bell called “Everything Is Spiritual” which I hoped would help her understand the supremacy and sovereignty of God in our world and how much he desires that in our lives. As she left the train, I silently prayed for this precious creation of God to open her heart and engage in a personal relationship with the Creator God of the universe who loved her so much!
As I sat back and breathed deeply after such a long conversation (well over an hour!), I was so thankful for the kind of training I have received through Interhigh and other worldview and apologetics training!! I also could not helping thinking what a great God we serve—a God who can use even the young to further His Kingdom and who is a faithful God in control of all things.
Soli Deo gloria!
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
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