For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20, NIV)
Over the past year, I’ve been blessed to have played some incredibly beautiful golf courses including the five courses at Bandon Dunes. They were absolutely stunning and spectacular! Each time I teed it up, I was in total awe of the beauty around me and how God has revealed himself to me in these majestic settings.
During my study and use of apologetics over the last 20 years, the question of the existence of God has always been an area I tend to shy away from discussing with non-believers because I have trouble developing a logical and coherent explanation to share with them. I know that there are many philosophical approaches to explain the existence of God, ranging from the Kalam cosmological argument to the ontological argument to the teleological argument. But I struggle with philosophical arguments that make my head swim and that I struggle to explain consistently and cogently.
Paul has provided us with an easier approach when he tells us that God reveals himself to us in all that is around us. This notion of “general revelation” whereby God makes a self-disclosure through his creation to all of us is, I find, the easiest and most concise way to start a conversation about the existence of God. My goal is to use this approach as a springboard to more robust conversations about faith and belief in Jesus.
God’s revelation of himself to us is all around us—whether it is a mountain or ocean setting, a golf course, or just a sunrise in the backyard.
In trying to “change the conversation” with one of my golfing buddies while we’re out on the golf course, I will use just a simple statement such as: “Don’t you think that the reflection of the mountains on the lake is one of the most gorgeous sights on this course? Aren’t we blessed that God has created this incredible beauty for us to enjoy?” Depending on my buddy’s response, I’ll try to take the conversation further.
The beauty of this approach is that God’s revelation of himself to us is all around us—whether it is a mountain or ocean setting, a golf course, or just a sunrise in the backyard. It is everywhere we look. David shared his awe of God’s creation in Psalm 19 when he wrote:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. (Psalm 19:1-4)
The next time you want to engage a friend in a dialogue about faith, just look around and use the beauty of God’s creation as the starting point for the conversation that could change their life.
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Mark “Ole” Olson
September 23, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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