Evident Evidence
Evidence can be quite fascinating. Sometimes evidence proves something to be objectively true. An example of this is when you hear a report that a bank has been robbed, then see video footage of someone entering a bank, pulling a gun, and leaving with a bag of cash. Other times providing evidence leaves more questions than answers or casts doubt on the matter at hand. The video footage of the recent plane crash in China comes to mind. That’s a piece of evidence that gives us some information, but doesn’t answer all the key questions we have. Another complicating factor when it comes to evidence is that we as humans tend to put our own feelings and experiences into the equation. Those things can be both beneficial and harmful when combined with evidence. Will they lead us closer to the answer or lead us astray?
Let me share a personal take which partly inspired this post. I drive a lot, so I have time to listen to a lot of things. I used to do a mix of country music and conservative talk radio, but now I do almost all podcasts. Every now and then, I’ll tune into our local talk radio station, 94.9 News Now. On Saturday mornings, there is an awesome 2-hour show hosted by a man who goes by Rocky. When I first stumbled upon this show, I was like who is this fiery guy passionately shouting about God and political issues, with the Eye of the Tiger playing in returns from commercial breaks?! Come to find out, he is the father of one of my good friends. This past Saturday, I knew this friend was going to be on her dad’s show, so I made sure to listen. The whole show was great with the typical unapologetic statements of faith and defenses of conservative positions from Rocky. However, the best part of the show was the last half hour or so when the daddy-daughter duo teamed up on the radio. My good friend was on the show to promote the organization she works for and all the great work they do, now for 100 years. That was good in itself. But the best part was seeing (hearing) the bond between them and witnessing a proud papa speaking about the joy of raising his firstborn. This beautiful moment was perfectly complimented by a song they chose to play coming back from one commercial break…
All throughout my history
Your faithfulness has walked beside me
The winter storms made way for spring
In every season, from where I'm standing
I see the evidence of Your goodness
All over my life, all over my life
I see Your promises in fulfillment
All over my life, all over my life
The lyrics of this worship song, appropriately named Evidence, really shed a light on things. Just like that awesome moment between a dad and his daughter, the evidence of God’s goodness is plain to see all over our lives. However, we may choose to look at all the negative things instead. In fact, rather than thank God for the good things He has allowed us to have and the ways He has blessed us, we may spend our energy blaming Him for the things that aren’t the way we want them to be. Back to the personal for a second — my relationship with my firstborn (also a daughter) has been severed in a way I obviously don’t like. One of the greatest blessings in my life has been taken for me. How I feel about that is a whole other issue. I could choose to stop being grateful for all the other ways God has blessed me and simply blame Him for that, or I can focus on all the other good He has done not just in my own life, but for all of mankind. To chose the former I would need to elevate my own feelings and experiences above God and deny the totality of evidence of God’s goodness. I choose the latter because despite my feelings towards a particular experience, the evidence overwhelmingly points to God’s goodness.
See the cross, the empty grave
The evidence is endless
All my sin rolled away
Because of You, oh, Jesus
See the cross, the empty grave
The evidence is endless
All my sin rolled away
Because of You, oh, Jesus
More lyrics, and evidence from that song. Did you die on the cross, come back to life, or walk out of a grave? Do you have the power to abolish sin? Are you sinless? Of course not! Nobody else fits that description either…except Jesus. THAT is what the evidence shows us. It’s evident to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear. You can see how God has worked above and through your feelings and experiences (Hint: RIGHT CHOICE), or you can place your feelings and experiences above Him (Hint: BAD IDEA). What you do with this evidence has a direct impact on your eternity!
PSA to all the aspiring lawyers out there, this Judge REALLY frowns upon your motions to dismiss the key piece of evidence — JESUS!
Please enjoy the song Evidence!