Body of Evidence

"Then Samuel said to the people, 'It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.
After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. They cried out to the LORD and said, "We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you. Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal [Gideon], Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely." ' "

"After his suffering, he[Jesus] showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive... So when they met together, they asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' "

To the scientific mind, evidence and proof come in the form of repeatable actions in front of various audiences. When we ask the Bible, "Where is your evidence for God?" we mistakenly focus on the miraculous signs and wonders; the signs and wonders were not included as evidence for the scientific mind, but rather as evidence to those who believed in the supernatural power of gods. This does not mean that the Bible lacks scientific evidence for God, for as we will discuss today the evidence is not in the physical (although there is physical evidence), but rather in the people who changed.

When we look at body-builders and power-lifters we want to know, "What's the secret to your success?" They often speak of a regimen, a diet (or lack thereof) and the disciple it takes to succeed. Very few will attribute their strength to genetics, steroids or supplements, but rather to the effort they put forward. They may give some credit to those things, but ultimately their message comes down to one thing. Effort. Building strength and mass is hard work. It's a daily effort and there is no short cut.

Occasionally, someone will claim a new workout, diet or supplement will magically create the body we've always hoped and dreamed of, but as we put the magic to the test, we discover it is of no lasting value. These workless wonders only lead to injury, disease, further discomfort and dissatisfaction. They make us believe that change is outside of our grasp or costs money to attain. True change is about consistency and practice. And no matter the discipline, consistency and practice bring about change. It is slow, but when we look back at the changes in our body that have happened over time, the transformation appears magical. We can hold up one photo of brokenness and frustration, and another of health and well being. To the casual onlooker, this change appears instantaneous, the results guaranteed. But everyone who has set out on the journey to change the shape of their body knows the journey has pitfalls, frustrations, plateaus and re-evaluations. Changing the body is difficult, but worth the effort.

I'm not simply talking about becoming a power-lifter, or losing a few pounds; I'm talking about the effort it takes to transform spirit, mind and body, and how that relates to evidence for the existence of God. We know that change takes work, it is an effort, but an effort in what direction? When we read the Bible, it is easy to get swept up in the dramatic miracles of salvation or be confused by them, but these miracles point to what is more consistent and ever present: lives dedicated to God. These lives, lived out across the centuries among various peoples and cultures, have one consistent theme, they aren't faithful to their God. This is what Samuel points out as he confronts the Israelites with their failure to follow. The evidence for God he describes is not in the miracles, but in the people who come to their rescue. These people, judges, deliver Israel from the hands of their enemies whenever the Israelites turn from worshipping the gods and goddesses of the land, and only worship the LORD.

Let's say we believe this is true, that worshipping the LORD will deliver us from the mess we find ourselves in. This doesn't explain why God uses signs and wonders to miraculously deliver. If God only delivered by the amount of effort we gave him, we might believe that our effort is what saves us; that being saved has nothing to do with God, but rather our own hard work. God steps up to the plate working signs and miracles to show his people that its not based on their effort; its based on his. The only effort required from them is getting rid of the gods and goddesses in their lives, God does the rest.

Another question we may pose, "Why doesn't God prove himself more often or more clearly?" In our verse from the Acts of the Apostles, we have this vague little line reading, "[he] gave them many convincing proofs that he was alive." How frustrating! Why doesn't it describe the science behind the proofs? Consider this, before the crucifixion Jesus performed multiple miracles demonstrating he had power from God. The one thing he didn't do, that was asked for, was show a sign from heaven. AKA make it rain fire and brimstone. Jesus refused to do this. Why? Jesus was not trying to prove himself to the masses. He was trying to convince a small group of men that God had the power to change their lives, their country and the whole world. He was not interested in changing the minds of the crowds. Why? Because the crowds were focused on freedom from their oppressors. They only wanted a God who could give them their land back. If Jesus had performed the sign from heaven, they probably would have asked him to use it on the Romans. God was not interested in nationalities, politics or who controlled what land, he was interested, and is still interested in the hearts of humanity. That's what he cares about, and that's how he goes about proving himself. He proves he can change lives by changing lives in every situation, circumstance and social circle. There is no one beyond his reach. This is the evidence the Bible presents for our consideration.

The Bible has not been written to be a proof of physical evidence for the existence of God, rather it contains proofs in the form of changed lives. It is very difficult to hold a life up to scientific scrutiny and deduce what has caused the change. But science can clearly state there has been a change. Change that is just as evident as building muscle or losing weight. It takes faith to believe in the source of change. And the ultimate test of this faith is whether or not it will change a life.

This is one of the greatest critiques against the body of Christ believers, that they have not changed, even though they have all the 'tools' to do so. They have only presented a form of ritual, a set of presentations and good intentioned philosophy that simply makes people happy and helps them cope with life. To put it plainly, there are those who claim to believe in the power of God, but have not put action to their belief. In essence they talk about change, but have not changed themselves. They are advertisers who have not even tried or used their own product. This critique is valid. The body of believers should be measured by its capacity to change, to become embodied witnesses of the power of God, not merely see-ers of the power of God. This is the kind of change present in the early church. It's the kind of change we read about in the Old Testament when people cast aside their local gods to serve the Living God. People want to know about the God who causes internal change, not the God who can cure the common cold, not the God who is our own personal medicine cabinet or sign of military victory.

The evidence of God is a changed a heart. Of a life that was frustrated, broken and shattered, but somehow restored to health and well being. Of lives that were crippled from the start, but given strength to walk when they believed. The power of God to change is not reserved for those who already believe, but for those who want to believe. For those understand what its like to try multiple methods of strengthening a body, only to meet with failure and a smaller bank account. The Good News of healing is for these people. Not the ritual performers, presenters or religious snake oilers. God is so much more than we give him credit. He has way more power than we let him demonstrate. Too often we get caught up in asking for signs and wonders, and we don't ask him to change our lives. He's much more interested in delivering us from our sick habits than raining fire from the sky. He's much more interested in how we can be his embodied and healed witnesses, than our empty attempts at self healing. He isn't trying to prove how great he is, he is trying to deliver us from ourselves.