Hopefully you are joining us from our previous study of the "PERSON" of God where we learned how 3D art, called 3D Stereograms, can help teach us that God is one unique God in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirt. We are now going to take a look at how 3D art can teach us about the "EXISTENCE" of God.
Do you believe that God exists? Why or why not?
Let's deviate for a moment and pretend that I am there in the room with you and I am holding a box. I further make the claim to you that there is a one hundred dollar bill inside of the box. Do you believe that there is a $100 dollar bill inside of the box? Why or why not?
Just for the record, there was a $100 dollar bill inside of the box.
From this simple example, did your personal belief as to whether or not there was a $100 dollars inside of the box change the reality that there really was a $100 dollars inside of the box? The answer is obviously "No." Your belief could not change the reality that there was a $100 dollar bill inside of the box.
Now allow me to ask a similar question. Does your belief about whether or not God exists make a difference about whether or not God exists? For example, one person believes that God exists and one person does not believe that God exists. Does the person's belief that God exists actually make God exist or does the person's belief that God does not exist actually make it true that God does not exist?
Once again, the answer is obviously "No." God either exists or He does not. We cannot "believe Him" into existence or we cannot "believe Him" out of existence. So no matter what we believe, the question remains, "Does God exist?" The interesting thing here is that there really is no middle ground. In our $100 dollar bill example, you had to decide, yes or no, whether you believed that there was a$100 dollar bill in the box. There was no in between. Either a $100 dollar bill existed in the box or it did not.
What you did was believe. You either believed that there was a $100 bill in the box or you did not believe, but either way, you believed. For those of you who believed, you only first believed because someone, me to be exact, made a claim that a $100 bill existed in the box causing you to have to make a decision whether or not you believed me or not.
Our 3D art actually gives us great insight into how we respond when we search for the answer to the question of whether God exists. We started with a picture and a claim was made that there was a picture within the picture. You could either believe the claim or not, but your belief did not change whether there really was a picture within the picture. In order to verify the claim, you had to search within the picture. For those of you who have previously viewed 3D art and have seen the picture within the picture, what was your response?
Your response was one of belief. If anyone ever asks you whether or not you believe that 3D art exists, your response will always be yes because you studied the art and personally saw the picture within the picture.
Now I am going to make the following claim:
GOD EXISTS.
Do you believe this claim? Are you willing to search to determine whether this claim is true? I hope so because God's reward for those who have searched for Him and found Him is eternal life spent with Him in heaven. But how do we find God?
In the same way that we found the 3D image when we searched within the picture, God makes a promise to us that we will find the truth of His existence when we search for Him. Consider the following verses in Luke 11:9-10:
"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks."
I am writing before you today because I have not only seen the 3D image within the art that we have been talking about, but I have sought after the God of the universe and I have found Him. How have I found Him? I have studied and searched through His Word, the Bible, and I have found it to be true. I have experienced God's working in my day to day life in such a way that I cannot rack it up to "coincidence." I look around me daily and see the wonderful universe that I live in and realize that only a powerful Creator could have brought the world, including me, into existence. And my prayers have been heard and answered. I have continued to ask, look, and knock and God has been faithful to answer my diligence. God has opened the door of my heart and mind so that I know that God exists!
In fact, I would be willing to wager (if I were of the wagering sort) that when you first saw the three dimensional aspect of a 3D Stereogram, you excitedly told someone else around you and tried to help him or her to see the same thing that you had just seen. I know that when I saw my first 3D stereogram, I shared my excitement with my husband who was in the room with me and I immediately interrupted him so that he could search and see the 3D picture within the picture also.
In that same mindset, just like I exclaimed with excitement when I saw the 3D and shared the truth that 3D really existed, I am excitedly telling you that I have seen God within the writings of the Bible and within the workings of my life and I am writing to share with you that God really exists!
I am sure that when you saw your first 3D picture, you wanted to share your finding with others and let them know that there really was a picture to see. You wanted someone else to experience what you had experienced. That is the same way with God, once you see your first glimpse of His existence, you want to see more and one way that we see more is by studying the Bible which is what we are doing right now.
In addition, once you know that God exists and that He loves you, you will naturally want to tell others just like we wanted to tell others when we first saw the 3D image. A Christian man by the name of Kurt Kaiser wrote a praise song which actually summarizes what we have just been talking about. Let's ponder the words to this well know song:
PASS IT ON
by Kurt Kaiser
It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;
That's how it is with God's Love,
Once you've experienced it,
You spread His love to everyone
You want to pass it on.
What a wonderous time is spring,
When all the trees are budding.
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming;
That's how it is with God's love,
Once you've experienced it.
You want to sing, it's fresh like spring,
You want to pass it on.
I wish for you my firend
This happincess that I've found;
You can depend on God
It matters not where you're bound,
I'll shout it from the mountain top
I want the world to know
The Lord of love has come to me
I want to pass it on.
Many of the phrases in this song relate to our 3D art example and to what we have just learned happens when we:
1. Ask God to show us that He exists.
2. Seek God to find out that He does exist and
3. Find God which results in our knowing that God exists.
Let's look at some of the lines in the song and see how they relate to God's existence.
"It only takes a spark to get a fire going."
It only takes a glimpse of the picture within the picture of our 3D art to know that it exists. Likewise, it only takes a glimpse of God to know that He exists and that He really is the one and only God of the Universe.
Have you had a glimpse today of a flower, a newborn, the stars in the sky, the trees on your street, or snow on the mountaintops? Then you have seen a glimpse of God's handiwork.
"And soon all those
around can warm up in its glowing."
Once one of us saw the 3D art, there were soon others around us who saw it too because we gave them hope that there was something within the picture so that they kept trying. Likewise, when we let others know that we know that God really exists, our firm belief gives others hope and courage to seek and find on their own and soon they will be sharing in the truth of God's existence and love for them.
"That's how it is with God's love,
Once you've experienced it.
You spread His love to everyone."
Once you actually see and experience 3D art, you naturally share your experience with others by telling them that it is real. Someone who did not see the 3D and quit trying is going to say that it does not exist and miss out on the truth. Likewise, once you have actually experienced the truth of God's existence, you naturally share your experience with others which leads us into another phrase of the song:
"I want to pass it on."
You saw the 3D art and you wanted to pass what you saw on to someone else. I have experienced the truth of God's Word and His love for mankind. I know that He exists and I want to pass that truth on to you. That is why I am writing today.
Just like when we saw the first glimpse of the 3D picture and knew that it was real, when we see God through the truth of His Word and the glory of His Universe, we will know that He is real and that He exists and we will want others to see what we have seen.
For those of you who have seen 3D art, could you ever be convinced that it did not exist? This is the same way with one's belief in God's existence. Once we believe based on God revealing Himself to us, we can never unbelieve. No one will ever be able to convince us that God does not exist.
We have now learned how 3D art teaches us about the "PERSON" of God being God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We have also experienced how our reaction to seeing the truth of 3D art parallels our reaction when we have experienced finding the truth of the "EXISTENCE" of God. Please join us in our final study where we will look at how 3D art can teach us about our "VIEW" of God.
© Copyright 2009 by Devra Robledo, All Rights Reserved
References:
© "PASS IT ON" Words & Music by Kurt Kaiser
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