When an Atheist Blames God
“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”
2 Peter 3:8
We have a lot of expectations for God.
“If you’re real, then fix this!”
“If you love me you would not let this happen!”
“If you’re so good then why am I in so much pain?!”
Such pleas can be heard from Christians, but if the atheist is honest, from them too. Most unbelievers don’t believe because they have such high expectations for God–there’s no way they’d trust Jesus.
“If God was real, this world wouldn’t be in such bad shape! He’d do something!”
The fact of the matter is He did do something. He sent Jesus here. Further, He’s continuing to do something through us, you and me, dear Christian. Certain unbelievers think that if God was legitimate, heaven should be happening on earth right now–a utopia–with no questions asked. But because that’s not the case, they refuse to believe in Messiah.
Aggressive antagonists’ only defense is insulting God because this world is so painful–which is strange. Why insult something you don’t think exists? Grandma used to say, “God has placed eternity in the heart of every man.” She was quoting Scripture, even though I didn’t understand this until I was older (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Like breathing, we can’t not think, Where’d I come from? Where will I go when I die? It’s impossible. This is what makes us different from the animal kingdom. We know we have a beginning, and we know something will happen when our heart stops beating. Unbelievers will attempt to use the word logic but even their logic hits a dead-end road with this statement:
“I came from something.”
This, they can’t deny. No human can. Something can’t come from nothing. Every scientist will agree with those five words, even non-Christian scientists. So if we go all the way around the circle in a debate–Where’d we come from?–here’s their unanswerable problem: Atheists cannot explain our origin—the universe and humanity—without a god.
They’ll claim a loud bang happened, they’ve even named it–The Big Bang–BANG! And here we are. But they know that bang had to come from something. Why? Because they know something can’t come from nothing. The most intelligent unbeliever will agree.
For this exact reason, Jesus said, “I am.” (See John 8:58). No time frame. This is what makes God, God. He has no beginning or end. And what are we basing time on as we know it? His sun, His planets, earth’s revolutions and rotations around the sun. He created these giant spheres and placed us at just the right distance so we don’t burn up or freeze. The exact measurements are perfect to sustain human life. This isn’t random but intelligently designed.
Our Creator made that big bang when He said, “Let there be light” (see Genesis 1:3). God made the first humans whom we’ve all descended from (see Genesis 1:27). The universe is not billions of years old. Non-believers came up with those numbers to discredit the timeline of the Bible. I don’t know how old it is, but it’s not billions or even millions. We don’t need to worry about the age of Creation but instead focus on the love of our Creator.
Those who reject the God of the Bible do so because if He made this planet then why is it so messed up? The answer is He didn’t make it messed up. He made it perfect. We, His creations, humanity messed it up (see Genesis 4:7, Romans 5:12). Thankfully, because He’s not bound by time, He had a rescue mission planned before He spoke this into existence. The Bible says the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the earth! What?! How? How was Jesus sacrificed before the foundation of this planet?! (See Revelation 13:8).
Only by lifting ourselves up and out of time can this be understood. God can do that! (See 2 Peter 3:8). By not being bound by the very notion of time in which He created–based on the spinning of our planet around the sun–the Word, Jesus, planned on becoming one of His own creations! (See John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-19).
Why? To save us from the planet we jacked up with sin! (See John 3:16-18, Romans 5:12-15). Therefore our expectations and the Father’s were placed on Him! Jesus came to help us! He came to save us! With His Spirit being in everyone who believes He’s forgiven them, He works all things out for our ultimate good! (See 1 Corinthians 6:19, Romans 8:28). Even if we never get to see that good on this side of heaven, He is for you, He is good, and He’s not causing your pain (see Hebrews 11, Romans 8:31).
So today, my friends, know this: Many unbelievers won’t say it, but they want God to fix everything right now. They blame Him for what humanity has caused. They demand He never allow anything bad to occur–to them, or to the world they live in. But because that won’t happen on this side of heaven, they feel the most disrespect they can give Him is to say He’s not real. God, however, understands their frustration and still wants nothing but the best for them. His feelings aren’t hurt, He’s God. He can handle anything they throw at Him. He still loves them unconditionally (see Romans 5:8). He still wants them to come to the knowledge of the truth, believing in His Son as Savior (see 2 Peter 3:9, 1 John 4:19). Our Heavenly Father longs to have a close relationship with them, to comfort them. He wants all their expectations placed on Jesus, by grace through faith, once and for all time.
A prayer for you: Father, today I’m grateful for this planet. I know that might sound strange, but what you’ve put together here is genius. What’s more, in all your splendor, out of all your creations, we are your most prized possession and I know that. You built this for us! You created this planet and universe so we could live out our lives temporarily in these fragile bodies and then go on to live with you in your timeless realm. How cool is that?! Right now, I lift up all who are reading this, directly to you. For the unbeliever, keep letting them know how much you care for them. As they gaze up at the stars at night, remind them. As they look upon a beautiful mountain vista, remind them. As they hold their newborn baby, remind them. Remind them that these things were your ideas. Remind them that if they’ll believe in Christ you’ll be with them forever, starting now. Amen.
This devotional is from The Christian Identity, Volume 3. Get your copy here!